


Those Summer Nights

by No_One_Special_01289



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 80's, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Demons, Fluff, Inspired by Grease, M/M, Secret Relationship, Smut, Summer, Vampires, Violence, paranormal happenings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:21:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 34,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21652960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No_One_Special_01289/pseuds/No_One_Special_01289
Summary: "Summer fling don't mean a thing."Or at least that's how it's supposed to go.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 16
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

Castiel rolled into his parking space with a new Van Halen song playing quietly on his car's stereo. He watched with a pessimistic look as student after student entered the doors to Sioux Falls High School, or what Cas called hell. After the summer he'd just had, school seemed absolutely dreadful. He glanced at his watch and sighed, there were only seven minutes before he had to be in homeroom. As he wondered if he could get away with sitting there for another two minutes, there was a loud bang on his window. He looked over, saw wild red hair through the glass of his Lincoln, and rolled it down.

"Charlie! You gave me a heart attack!" He exclaimed.

"Well you were looking all grumpy so I thought I'd come and say hi," she said. Cas grabbed his backpack and got out.

"No wonder I'm grumpy. The first day of school hasn't even started yet and I'm feeling the senioritis," he moped as they began the walk to the front doors.

"Yeah but I haven't seen you in forever! At least not since you left for California in June, we have so much to catch up on!"

As she said this, another one of their friends, Anna Milton walked up. "I'll be damned, Castiel Novak is that you?! I almost didn't recognize you you're so tan!" She said.

Castiel looked down at his sun-kissed skin with a shrug and said, "I spent a lot of time at the beach."

"Well you look good, even if you're still wearing those ugly cardigans," she said, poking at Cas's mustard yellow sweater.

"Oh, thanks," he replied sarcastically.

"So," Charlie said, moving on, "what did you even do in California?" 

Cas shrugged and said, "Nothing much. I went to the beach, ate good food, chilled at my grandparent's beach house."

Anna rolled her eyes and said. "You're hiding something! I know it! Surely _something_ exciting happened!" Castiel just shook his head in denial and stopped at his locker to put his things away. He couldn't tell them what had happened, not in the middle of the hallway with only two minutes until class.

"There isn't enough time," Cas said nonchalantly.

"Fine. Both of you are coming over to my place tonight, and you're going to tell us everything," Charlie declared firmly.

Cas shook his head and answered, "What if I have homework?"

"Then bring it. Tell your parents it's a study group or some shit. Also, invite Alfie and Balthazar if you see them," Charlie said as Castiel slammed his locker shut and continued on his way.

"Sure thing. Bye guys, talk to you later," he said, walking away. He felt kinda bad for leaving them in the dark after he'd been gone for so long, but he felt weird talking about what had happened. He knew that his friends would make a big deal out of it, and he didn't think he wanted that. As much as he enjoyed the past three months, it would be best for him to forget about it.

He walked into his homeroom and saw another one of his friends, Alfie, sitting in the row of desks farthest from the door. He waved Cas over with an excited grin.

"Castiel Novak, thought you would have forgotten all about this place while you were out on the coast," Alfie said as Cas took a seat behind him.

Cas looked down at his desk with a bashful smile and answered, "I nearly did. It was so wonderful out there, I felt like I was on another planet."

Alfie raised his eyebrows and asked, "Will you tell me about it?"

Castiel nodded and said, "Charlie is having a study group after school today at her place. You, Anna, Balthazar and I are invited. I'll give all of you more details then."

"Why can't you just say it outright?" Alfie wondered.

Castiel said, "I don't want people to hear. It's kind of personal."

"Oooh, sounds juicy." As Alfie said this, the bell rang. The last stragglers poured in and the homeroom teacher got up from his desk.

"Quiet down. I have to go over some changes to the rule handbook and hand out some papers, the faster I can do it the faster you all can go back to talking." So he began to drone on about new smoking rules. It didn't take Castiel long to zone out and daydream about sand between his toes, the sea breeze, and sitting on the docks under the moonlight.

\----------------

"Come on! What's the big reveal? Why are you so vague today?" Anna questioned from Charlie's colorful bean bag chair. Cas hesitated, nervous to finally tell other people.

"Common Cas! We've been waiting all day to hear this!" Charlie exclaimed, poking him in the leg.

Castiel nudged her arm with his foot and said, "I don't want you guys to make a big deal out of this."

"Fine! But for the love of god stop being so dramatic and spit it out!" Balthazar said in his thick British accent.

Castiel let go of his nerves and said, "I met someone."

"I knew it!" Anna shouted with wide, excited eyes.

"Oh my god, what was his name?" Charlie asked, leaning forwards like it would help her hear better.

"His name was Dean," he said with a giddy grin.

Alfie smiled up at him and said, "Cas I'm so happy for you! What did he look like? Was he handsome?" Castiel nodded and went for his wallet, a picture of Dean from the fourth of July was still in there somewhere.

"He was the most handsome person I've ever met. Here's a photo," he said, handing the Polaroid to Alfie and Balthazar.

"Wow," Alfie said, looking at Dean's bright green eyes, slightly freckled skin, and almond brown hair, "I'm not gay, but if I had to pick a guy..." He passed the picture to Anna, who took one look at Dean and gasped out loud.

"Dear lord, how did you even meet him?" She asked, throwing it over to Charlie.

"It's kind of embarrassing. He was sleeping under the sun, trying to get a tan, and I accidentally tripped over him. He was mad at me, but he saw I had fallen onto a broken piece of glass and he helped remove it. I don't know why he stuck around after that," Castiel said as Charlie handed him the photo.

"How romantic," Balthazar commented, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

Everyone ignored him, and Anna said, "So, tell us about your fling. Were you a good boy or did you...ya know, do the horizontal tango?" Castiel wrinkled his nose with disgust.

"First of all, never, ever, say 'horizontal tango' ever again. And no, we didn't. He was a gentleman, really sweet. He tried nothing like that. We spent _a lot_ of time at the beach. His dad was off doing god knows what, he said his brother was staying with a family friend, and he had a lot of free time. To be with him, I had to go to the beach where my parents couldn't keep an eye on me. You know how they are. They met Dean once and told me to stay away from him because 'he looked like a sinner'. The beach was our safe haven. There was a burrito place around the corner from his motel. We would get takeout and then lay in his motel room and watch TV. We went swimming in the middle of the night, and every week we would stargaze in the sand. It was like a wonderful dream, the best summer a person could imagine," Castiel reminisced, closing his eyes and going back to the beach.

"So he was cool then?" Alfie asked.

"So cool. He drove his own car, introduced me to a shit ton of good music, and all the girls wanted to be with him. I got so lucky," Cas said, feeling like some kind of blushing, prepubescent tween.

"You got his number, didn't you?" Charlie inquired. Cas's heart sunk and he hung his head, by his sudden change of expression, they all knew the answer. "What happened? Why didn't you get his number you dingus?" She asked after getting nothing but silence in return.

"Despite everything, I don't know much about him. I know the surface things, like his favorite band and his favorite movies, but he didn't tell me about his family or personal life. Hell, I don't even know his last name. When it was finally time for us to part ways, he said that it would be better if we kept our summer fling a good memory, that we'd never meet again in person anyway, it would make no sense to continue. He kissed me in the passenger seat of his car, and that was it. I went to my grandparent's beach house for the last night, and god knows where he went," Castiel explained.

"There are plenty of fish in the sea," Balthazar commented.

Cas nodded and replied, "Maybe, but he was almost perfect."

Anna shook her head in disagreement. "Trust me, if he wouldn't even give you his last name, he has more baggage than he let on. It's probably best that you dropped him, boys like that cause nothing but trouble." Cas just shrugged, he knew she was probably right, but he didn't want to believe Dean was bad news. After the bond they had formed, he couldn't believe it.

"I don't know. All I know is that I miss him. I miss California. I miss our freedom," Cas sighed.

Balthazar huffed and said, "it's only been one day. You sure you aren't being a tad bit dramatic?" 

"Go easy on the guy, it's his first real breakup," Alfie pointed out in Cas's defense.

"Well, he has another reason to be pessimistic. Now that he's back, his job at the diner starts back up," Balthazar pointed out. Cas groaned loudly and banged his head against the mattress. He'd almost forgotten.

"Will you need a ride?" Balthazar asked proactively. Castiel nodded yes, they both worked at the same burger joint, so it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience. "OK then," Balthazar said, "But you have to be ready fifteen minutes before five."

"Right. Because _I'm_ the one with a punctuality problem," Cas remarked. Balthazar found a pillow that had fallen onto the floor and promptly whacked Castiel in the face with it.

"God, you're an asshole," Castiel said, tossing the pillow back towards Charlie.

"Please, I'm charming," he replied, shooting Anna a wink as if to prove his point.

Anna gagged and said, "No offense because you're my friend, but I'd rather die."

"Oh come on! I'm no dreamy boy on the beach, but surely I have some redeemable qualities. Hell, I have an accent. Charlie, what do you think?" Balthazar retorted, turning to the other redhead.

"Sorry buddy, you just aren't my type. If you had boobs, there's a small chance I might consider liking you," Charlie said.

"I count that as a win," Balthazar replied.

"Everyone in this room is a fucking nightmare," Alfie whispered, and they all erupted into laughter. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Sammy I swear if you aren't down here in ten seconds, I'm not taking you and you'll miss the second day of school too!" Dean shouted up the stairs impatiently. His freshman brother was taking so long he began to wonder if the kid was doing makeup or some shit.

"I'm coming!" Sam called, and fortunately, Dean could hear his heavy footsteps on the creaky floorboards above him. Seconds later, Sammy appeared in the staircase and he sprinted down the stairs. The minute Dean saw his hair, he couldn't contain his laughter.

"Fucking hell Sammy, you look like Brian May!" He wheezed. Sam, for some ungodly reason, had put his hair into a million little curls. 

"Shut up," Sam grumbled, making his way towards the front door of the house. Dean keeled over with laughter: his brother had never looked dumber.

"What made you mutilate yourself like that?" Dean asked, trailing behind him.

"I wanted to have cool hair," Sam muttered so quietly Dean could barely hear him.

"Why the fuck would you curl it like that though?" Dean asked as he unlocked the Impala.

"All the girls in California said they liked curly hair. My hair is kinda long, so I thought-"

"You thought why not curl your hair like Cher?" Dean snorted, coaxing a sneer onto Sam's face.

"You're a jerk," Sam said as Dean started the car.

"Well, you're a bitch," Dean replied as he backed out of Bobby's driveway. Sam opened his mouth to snap back, but Dean just turned on the radio and turned up the volume painfully loud. Sam gave up and slumped down in his seat. As Dean drove, Sam tried to flatten his hair the best he could in the reflection of the windows.

\--------------

"Dean Winchester!" The teacher called from the front of the room. It was the middle of the day, and Dean was already sick and tired of classes. He sat in the back with headphones and a Walkman, oblivious to the world around him.

"Dean Winchester!" The teacher shouted again, only this time with anger. Dean could barely hear her over the music, but he paused the song and pulled down his headphones.

"What?" He said with an obvious attitude in his voice. The teacher placed her hands on her hips and asked, "I'm sorry? Am I bothering you?"

Dean just rolled his eyes and shook his head yes, the entire class laughed.

"You couldn't even bother to show up to the first day of school, and now you have the nerve to say that _I'm_ wasting _your_ time? Congratulations, Mr. Winchester, you've got my first detention of the year," she said. Dean just shrugged; he didn't care, what he did in high school didn't matter.

"OK cool. When and where, Ms. Miller?" he questioned.

Ms. Miller sighed and said, "Room 102. It's from 2:30 to 4."

"Lovely. Oh, and I'm here by the way," he said.

Ms. Miller just rolled her eyes. "I don't get paid enough for this," She said, then continued with roll call. Dean promptly put the headphones on again and ignored the sudden influx of stares from all the ladies in the room. This was always what happened. He showed up at a new school, talked back to the teacher, and suddenly every person in the high school knew his name. He would be there for about a month and then pick up and leave for the next destination. He hadn't lasted a year at a school ever since Kindergarten.

He got lost in his own thoughts and the music, and before he knew it, the bell rang. He got up along with the other students and as he left the room; he felt a tap on his arm. He looked down and saw a girl with tan skin, wavy brunette hair, and a killer body right beside him. He pulled down his headphones and grinned at her.

"Hello ma'am," he greeted.

"Hi, I'm Lisa," she said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. They strolled down the hall side by side.

"I'm Dean, but I'm sure you caught that," he answered.

Lisa huffed a small laugh and replied, "I did. How could I miss it? She was practically screaming." 

"Ha, well I must have a very upsetting face or something to provoke such a reaction," he said.

Lisa shook her head and responded, "You have a good face do if I say so myself. So good I'm willing to introduce you to my friends, the only cool people in this entire place."

"All right, all right, but they better be cool. Don't be lying to me," he said.

Lisa pointed across the lunchroom and said, "There they are!" A bunch of boys in varsity jackets and high-waisted jeans, and a bunch of pretty girls in bright skirts, shirts, and neon makeup sat around a big table eating their lunches. Dean could tell they were the average popular kids at the school; the kind Dean was usually introduced to on his first day.

"Hey," Lisa called as they approached the table. Every one of them looked up to smile at her, but once they saw Dean their grins faded away.

"Who's this?" One boy asked.

"This, Bart, is Dean: Dean Winchester. He's new, and I thought he might like to sit with us today," Lisa told them, pulling out a chair for Dean.

"Hey," Dean said in a chill, nonchalant voice. Pretending not to care was the best way to make friends with these kinds of kids.

"Hello." Half of the girls at the table said in unison. The boys, on the other hand, weren't so pleased with his arrival. Dean, a veteran when it came to insecure football players, knew exactly how to deal with them. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his front pocket, and from the other, a lighter to go with them. He put one in his mouth and lit the end, pure euphoria began to flow through his veins.

He held out the pack to the kid sitting next to him and said, "Want one?"

The kid shook his head and replied, "Nah man. We aren't allowed to smoke in the lunchroom."

Dean looked around and saw no adults anywhere.

"Who gives a fuck? None of the teachers care enough to be here to enforce the rule. Take one, I'll pass them around to the rest of you," Dean said. The dude didn't want to look lame to his friends, so he took a cigarette and Dean's lighter and puffed the little stick.

After a few seconds, a smile spread across his face and he introduced himself, "I'm Gordon," he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Good to meet you too," Dean answered, watching the others carefully so they wouldn't steal his lighter.

"So, Dean," Lisa piped up after they engulfed their entire table in a cloud of smoke, "Where are you from? What did you do this summer?"

"Oh, I'm not really from anywhere. I move around a lot, I don't have a place I'd really consider home. But this summer I was in California. My dad was working a job in the San Diego area, and I had some free time. Nothing particularly interesting happened. I had this thing with a chick, but it wasn't anything special," Dean told them. Ever since he'd arrived, he had tried not to think of what had happened that summer. Romance wasn't something he typically allowed into his life, Cas was just a one-off. However, he could use the twisted truth of a summer fling to impress the other students.

"Oh, sounds hot. Tell us about her. Was she hot? Did she give it up? Does she have a friend I could get in contact with?" A short boy with longish hair and a Snickers bar in his hand asked.

"She was smoking hot. Like ten out of ten gorgeous," Dean said, which certainly wasn't a lie. Only thing was that she was a he. "I fucked her in the sand after we went skinny dipping, it was some of the best sex I've ever had," he lied. Nobody would care if he talked about laying on a cheap motel bed together and talking about random shit. In his experience, guys thought it was badass if you slept with lots of girls, and girls all wanted the chance to "be the one to tame him". (A girl had actually said that to him sophomore year). It wasn't cool if you were an emotional schmooze.

"We aren't in contact though, so no friends for me to give out or anything," he added, a bunch of guys frowned at the news.

It was good that he couldn't talk to Castiel anymore, that's what he constantly told himself. A long distance relationship with another guy wasn't something he needed, not with the ego he'd worked hard to build. His home life wouldn't allow it either; hunting didn't exactly make him boyfriend material. Castiel was the only time in his life he'd ever let himself go soft, other than that he could manage with a string of hookups and meaningless relationships.

"I wish we had that good of a summer. Most of us stayed home and did football camp. Nothing interesting," the blond kid said, gesturing to the entire table.

"I promise you, my break wasn't all sunshine and rainbows either," Dean said, thinking of the two people who had died while his father had hunted down a werewolf.

"I'm sure. Oh, I almost forgot introductions! Gabriel Shurley, the kicker on the football team," he said, reaching out to shake Dean's hand. Dean was happy to return the favor. "That's Cole, that's Gordon, Bart, Richard, but most call him Dick, that's Ash, there's our quarterback Benny, and the rest are off getting lunch," Gabe explained to him, pointing to each and every boy at the table.

"It's nice to meet you all. Now, this is random, but it's been bugging me all day. Are there any good burger joints around? I haven't had a good cheeseburger in weeks," Dean inquired.

"Yeah. There's a popular diner called Zach's in the neighborhood. Best fries I've ever had, I swear on the bible," a girl with dark red hair and a pretty face told him.

"Thanks," he said, flashing her a flirtatious smirk, "I'll be sure to check it out." 


	3. Chapter 3

At five-fifteen on a Tuesday, Zach's was pretty empty. A few older people sat around eating food off of the senior's menu, but besides that, the fifties style music played for no one. At that point, Balthazar and Castiel had run out of busywork to do. They stood around in the kitchen with the three chefs on shift. Balthazar was trying to solve a Rubik's Cube and was nowhere near completing it.

"I think Satan must have invented this thing," Balthazar mumbled as he twisted it every which way.

"I just think you're bad at solving puzzles," Michael, the head chef and Castiel's oldest brother declared, watching Balthazar with a mix of frustration and amusement.

Castiel heard the little jingle that signaled a customer had just walked in. Cas, bored by Balthazar's unending failure, poked him and said, "Hey, go do your job."

"But I'm so close!" Balthazar exclaimed as he continued to twist the little cube.

"Maybe you should take a break, clear your mind and come back to it," Castiel recommended. Balthazar sighed and for the first time in five minutes, set the cube down.

"Fine, fine. I'll seat this person, but after that, I'm coming back to finish what I started!" He said as he left the kitchen. Castiel rolled his eyes, picked up the cube, and gave it a shot himself. One minute later, Balthazar came back in and snatched it out of his hand.

"Rude," Castiel huffed, although he wasn't that upset about it.

"You could have ruined it!" Balthazar whined as he turned his attention back to the colorful toy.

"Your customer needs their drink," Castiel reminded him, but Balthazar wasn't having it.

"Fine, but you're bringing out the food!" Balthazar said as once again, he set the Rubik's Cube down again and disappeared back into the eating area.

He reappeared a little later, and for ten minutes the smell of cooking beef and sizzling fries filled the air. When the burger was finally ready, Michael put it in a little red basket with checkered wax paper, plopped in a handful of fries, and tried handing it to Balthazar.

"Nope," he said, "Castiel's turn." Castiel cursed at him under his breath, but at least he was doing something other than standing around and watching Balthazar be dumb.

"I'm happy to do your job for you, you lazy asshole," Cas said, taking the basket from Michael.

"That's no way to talk to your best friend," Balthazar said as Cas slowly made his way out of the kitchen.

"Only when he deserves it," Cas said. He left the back shaking his head and trying to hold back a smile as he approached the table of the person he assumed was the customer, as that seat had been empty the last time Castiel was out there. He approached the customer from the back, so he didn't see the guy's face until he actually set down the food, and when he did, he felt like someone had punched him in the gut. Looking up at him with an equally bewildered expression, was fucking Dean.

After a silence that seemed to last for hours, Dean said, "You're the last person I expected to see today." 

"I was gonna say the exact same thing to you," Cas said like he had been holding his breath for the last five minutes. There was another long moment where neither of them spoke. Cas stood in his waiter's apron, holding the food with a weak grip while Dean continued to stare at him like he was a ghost.

"Well, here's your food. It was nice seeing you, I guess," Castiel blurted. He practically threw the basket on the table and hurried back to the kitchen. He went up to Balthazar with wide eyes and a mouth parted in disbelief. Balthazar took one look at him and lowered the Rubik's Cube.

"What put that look on your face?" He questioned.

"Remember the guy I was telling you about yesterday? The one in the picture? Dean; well, he's out there," Castiel told him, falling back against the metal fridge.

"Bloody hell, man. I thought he looked familiar, but I had no idea..."

"I know. What should I do? Should I hide back here until he's gone? Should I talk to him? Balthazar tell me what to do!" Castiel rambled.

"Honestly, this sounds like a sign from the universe. You spent the entire summer with him, what makes talking to him now any different?" Balthazar asked.

Castiel shrugged and said, "This isn't California anymore, this is my actual life. This is real."

"I think you should do it. He's hot as fuck, and you're getting a second chance to get his number, it seems. What'll it hurt?" Balthazar reasoned, giving Cas the courage he needed to do it.

"You're right. I'm going back out there," Castiel declared.

"Atta boy! Go get him!" Balthazar exclaimed as Castiel marched back out of the kitchen. But his sudden burst of bravery subsided when he saw the back of Dean's head in the booth. He froze and rethought his decision, but he wasn't a coward, he had to face this head-on or he might regret it forever. Cas went over and said the first thing that came to mind.

"How's your food?" He said like he would say to any customer, however his voice was shakier and louder than normal.

"It's delicious, kudos to the chef," Dean said. He looked around the restaurant. They were alone except for the stoned cashier listening to her Walkman. "It doesn't look like you're busy," Dean said, "Wanna sit down and share these fries with me?"

"Sure," Cas said. He slid into the booth across from Dean. Butterflies fluttered around his stomach, however, the fries were too good to resist. He grabbed a fry from the basket and Dean watched tentatively as he took a bite of the salty, deep-fried potato. Castiel swallowed, and a shiver ran down his spine as Dean continued to stare at him with curious green eyes.

"What are you doing here, Dean?" Castiel finally asked in a low voice.

"Eating a burger," Dean replied, pleased with himself for that remark. Castiel was not as amused. 

"I'm serious Dean. I thought I was leaving you behind in California. Now you're here, halfway across the country sitting in the diner which I just happen to work at? It's a little jarring," Cas said.

"Are you suggesting that I followed you or some shit?" Dean asked, sounding a little offended.

Cas shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I don't know. I'm just saying this is awfully coincidental."

"I'm not stalking you, OK, let's get that out of the way. I'm probably more shocked to see you then you are to see me. A family friend lives here, and he needed help from my dad. Last time I was here I was just a kid, so I thought I would get used to the area and find a good burger joint."

"Are you staying for school?" Castiel asked as he took another fry.

"Yep, Sioux Falls High School, is that where you go?" Dean inquired.

Castiel nodded. "Yeah."

"What a fucking coincidence," Dean sighed, viciously biting into a french fry.

As Cas watched Dean dig into his food, a strange affection flooded his body. The only person he'd ever dated sat in front of him and had just told him he was sticking around. Cas would be stupid not to take this opportunity.

"Well, I'm glad to see you, if that means anything," Cas admitted, staring down at his hands and blushing like crazy.

"I'm glad to see you too," Dean replied, however, Cas could tell by his tone he was holding something back.

"But..." Cas said, disheartened by Dean's sullen expression.

"But I think we should just stay friends," Dean said, and Castiel's heart dropped. He knew things would be different now, but he had hoped they would still be something. Cas must have been wearing his heart on his sleeve because Dean frowned and reached out to touch his hand.

"It isn't anything personal, Cas; really, it ain't. But this isn't California anymore, we don't have the same freedom to do whatever we want. It's 1984, other kids don't like our type, and I'm fucking sure our parents wouldn't either. It doesn't make sense to carry on, especially if I'm leaving again in like a month," Dean said, squeezing Cas's hand tight. Cas looked up at him with eyes that verged on heartbroken. Dean was right, but it didn't feel good.

"Aww, Cas, don't look at me like that. We'll still see each other at school and stuff. Most summer flings end at some point. We had a good run, we really did," Dean said. Castiel pushed his hand off and slumped back into his seat.

"So where do we go from here?" Castiel asked, watching Dean fiddle with the toothpick from the burger.

"I say that we just live like normal. Move on like this summer was any other summer. Making a big deal out of everything would be a bad idea," Dean replied.

"So you want to pretend like nothing ever happened between us? Is that it?" Cas said, beginning to feel more angry than sad.

"That's a harsh way of putting it, but pretty much, yeah. I don't want to lead you on, or for you to think this will go anywhere. The life I live doesn't really allow for dating. I wish it were different, but it ain't. I'm sorry," Dean said.

"I just don't want things to get awkward at school," Cas said as Dean picked up his burger again.

"I doubt we'll even see each other. You're way smarter than I am, you're probably in all the hard classes," Dean said before chomping down.

"Don't say that. You're smart and you know it," Cas replied, causing Dean to get visibly uncomfortable. He never knew what to do when Cas said something like that.

"These burgers are fantastic," Dean said to change the subject, "Who makes 'em?" Cas didn't want to pry further, he knew he wouldn't get anywhere, so he went along with Dean's obvious divergence.

"It depends who's shift it is. But it was my stepdad who came up with the recipe. He is the owner of the place," Cas explained, looking away from the trickle of hamburger juice rolling down Dean's chin as he took another bite.

"I thought your dad was a pastor," Dean said, ignoring the mess on his face.

"He is, but that doesn't exactly pay the bills. He started the restaurant like ten years ago to make more money," Cas told him.

"What? He isn't satisfied stealing cash from religious folk?" Dean huffed

"Dean!" Cas said in a light, but warning tone.

"Sorry baby, it was just a joke," Dean said defensively.

"Listen, if you want to keep things platonic, that's fine by me. But you can't call me pet names like you did before, all right? You said you didn't want to lead me on," Cas replied unhappily.

"Sorry, you're right. It's kinda just a habit at this point. I'll try to stop," Dean said, finishing up his meal. He didn't seem like he would clean himself anytime soon, so Cas finally gave in and said something.

"Dean, you've got mayo and hamburger juice all over your face. I had to say something before you left looking like that," Cas blurted.

"Oh, thanks for telling me. I didn't even notice!" He said as he wiped his face with a napkin.

"You mean you can't tell when your face is a mess?" Cas asked in sheer disbelief.

"Eh, I don't notice those things anymore. I'm so used to being dirty that when I make a mess eating, I can't tell," Dean explained like what he said wasn't crazy.

Cas chuckled and said, "I don't think that's possible, Dean."

"That's what the skeptics said before we went to the moon," Dean said as he stood up to pay. Cas went with him.

Castiel laughed again and replied, "That's completely different! Knowing when to wipe your face isn't rocket science, unlike sending people to the moon!"

"Maybe my thing is some weird psychological phenomenon," Dean argued, although his grin was just as big as Castiel's.

"I think it's less about psychology and more about the fact that you're a slob," Cas teased as they approached the cash register. Dean handed the cashier money, not looking away from Cas for a second.

"Words hurt Castiel," Dean said, pouting like an injured puppy.

"You are something else Dean, do you know that?"

Dean just smiled and laughed as they stepped over to the door. "Yeah, I know. It was good seeing you Cas. Catch ya later," Dean said. He waved goodbye to Cas before walking away on his cute bow legs. Finally, Castiel allowed himself to relax. The tension in his shoulders relieved itself, and his heart was no longer pounding. He sauntered back to the kitchen deep in thought.

Balthazar had given up on his Rubik's Cube and was waiting excitedly for Cas to come and tell him what had happened. "I didn't hear any screaming, so I take that as a good sign. How did it go? What happened?" Balthazar inquired as he approached Cas.

Cas pulled him aside and spoke to him in a low whisper. Only a handful of people knew his sexuality, excluding his other co-workers, and he didn't want them to find out anytime soon.

"We're on good terms: for now. I don't know if it'll stay that way, but I'm hoping for the best," Cas whispered.

"Is he gonna be your boyfriend?" Balthazar asked.

"No. We're gonna stay friends," Cas grumbled with a frown.

"I'm sorry. If it means anything, I was rooting for you," Balthazar said.

"Thanks, I guess that means something," Cas said, but he was still down in the dumps. Balthazar wrapped his arm around Cas's shoulder and squeezed tight.

"Like I said before, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Plenty of fit boys are out there just waiting to meet someone as awesome you," he said in another attempt to comfort him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Castiel said, but his dejected voice remained. "I'm gonna take a quick break, clear my head a little. Come and get me if more people walk in," Cas added on.

"Sure thing mate," Balthazar said as Cas slithered out of his grasp. Cas walked away with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. How he was going to move on now, he had no fucking clue.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean walked into Ms. Miller's room, his Walkman blasting a nasty guitar solo. He went straight for the seat behind Lisa and plopped down with a sigh. He'd barely gotten any sleep that night, for obvious reasons. His plan to lay low with the popular kids would be screwed if Cas got in the picture. That boy was like no other, and Dean wasn't himself around him. If people thought something was weird, Dean would be excluded without question, and he didn't need to stand out and create drama. So Dean hoped he would never see Cas, it was a big school and the chance of them meeting throughout the day was slim to none.

Without warning, Lisa yanked Dean's headphones off and paused his Walkman. Dean cursed her out in his head, but bit his tongue and said nothing.

"Hey Dean," she said, batting her eyelashes and flashing him a catty grin.

"Mornin' Lisa," Dean grumbled.

"How was your night? Did you go to Zach's?" She asked, handing back his headphones.

Dean nodded and said, "Yeah. Good burgers, nice people, I'd go back."

"Hmm. If you'd like, you, me, and some of the others could go tonight for some milkshakes. I'd love to get to know you more, you're so mysterious," Lisa teased, touching his shoulder softly. Dean faked a smile, he really didn't want to go back so soon, certainly not with peers, but maybe Cas wasn't working that night.

"Sure, I'm not busy," Dean replied.

"Rad. Just...don't get another detention," Lisa said.

"I'll behave, I promise," Dean said. She giggled, and the bell rang. Ms Miller came in from the hallway, picked up a clipboard, and went down the list of names.

"Dean Winchester!" She called when she got to the bottom of the list.

"Yo," Dean said, earning a few quiet snickers.

Ms. Miller rolled her eyes and checked off his name, "Better than last time at least," she mumbled to herself.

There was a gentle knock at the door and Ms. Miller beckoned for whoever it was to come in.

"It's unlocked," She said loud enough for them to hear. The door creaked open, and Castiel walked in. Dean's jaw dropped and the pencil he had been holding slipped out of his hand.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He whispered as Cas ventured over to Ms. Miller's desk.

"This is Castiel, he'll be our student aid for the semester. Cas, why don't you take a seat there," Ms. Miller said, pointing to the desk closest to her. Cas nodded, and without a word turned to sit. That was when he caught sight of Dean, who had been watching him with a gaped mouth and shocked eyes. Cas grew tense, but he acted like nothing was wrong and sat down.

"OK," Ms. Miller said, standing up from her desk. "We're going to split into pairs of two. It's the second day, so we should all get to know each other better. Find someone you've never talked to and introduce yourselves. Then, find out something interesting about them. Go!"

Lisa whipped around and said, "Ugh, I can't believe that guy is our student aid. I was hoping for someone cool."

"What's wrong with him?" Dean asked, glancing over at Cas.

"He's like, the only queer in this school. It's just a rumor, but we're all pretty sure about it. He's a drama kid, a stick-in-the-mud, not to mention his crazy religious parents," Lisa told him, twirling her big curls on the end of her finger.

"Oh," Dean said, disappointed. He had hoped Cas would be popular so they could hang out, but apparently that wouldn't suit his hopes of staying out of rumors for once.

"About the assignment. What's your favorite color, Dean?"

"I like blue, I guess. How 'bout you?" Dean grumbled.

"Oh my god me too!" Lisa exclaimed with a bright grin.

"What's your favorite song?" Dean asked.

"Probably something by Madonna..."

That was when he tuned out.

\------------------

Dean sat in Zach's with his new "friends", tapping his foot anxiously as they waited for a server. He prayed that Cas wouldn't come out of those doors, he wanted the night to go smoothly.

He sat across from Benny, a kid who gave Dean the heebie-jeebies. The dude hardly said anything, wore a hat at all times and had a feral look in his eyes that sent shivers down Dean's spine. Dean was about to get out of there and pretend like he had something to do, but before he could speak up Castiel walked out from the kitchen. Dean saw his tight shirt, his slender body, his messy black hair, and melted into his chair. He wanted to get away from Cas, but he also wanted to stay and hear his voice: Dean chose the latter.

"What took so long?" Dick asked angrily as Cas approached the table.

"I apologize for the wait, as you can see we're a bit busy tonight," Cas said, gesturing to the bustling diner around them.

"Doesn't matter. Lousy service means lousy tip," Dick said. Cas sighed heavily and clenched his jaw, trying his best to stay composed.

"What can I get you guys?" Cas asked impatiently.

"Milkshake and a burger," Dick answered.

"Chocolate milkshake," Lisa said next.

"Nothing for me," Benny grumbled in his southern drawl. Then it was Dean's turn. He locked eyes with Cas, and his heart stopped. His mouth was dry and he couldn't think of what he wanted, even though he had rehearsed it in his head a million times. It was only a milkshake order, but talking to Cas with people he knew around was nerve-wracking.

"I'll have a Vanilla Milkshake, please," Dean said politely.

Cas gave him a slight smile. "Sure thing."

He moved onto Abby and the weight of the world was lifted off Dean's shoulders. Abby and Raphael ordered and Dean thought things were going smooth. Cas turned to walk away, but out of nowhere, Raphael, one of the worst people Dean had ever met, reached out and smacked Castiel's ass: hard.

Cas whirled around and gave Raphael a nasty scowl. "What the hell?!" Cas shouted. The entire table erupted into laughter with the exception of Dean and Benny. Rage boiled inside Dean, he wanted to launch out of his seat and give Raphael a beating he'd never forget, but Dean swallowed his anger and said nothing.

"You're supposed to like it, faggot," Raphael growled maliciously. Cas looked at Dean for help, but Dean avoided eye contact and turned away. Cas quickly figured out Dean wasn't going to be there for him, so he stormed off without another word. Dick, Raphael, Lisa, and Abby continued to cackle for another minute before the obnoxious laughter finally died down to soft chuckles.

"You guys are assholes," Benny said.

"He deserves it, bro, don't pretend he doesn't. Homos are abominations, they should be put in the ground," Dick replied. Dean had to physically bite his tongue to keep himself from lashing out. That was all that was said on the matter.

"So Dean," Lisa said, "I saw your car outside. It's a gnarly ride, where d'you get it?"

"Technically, it's my dad's. He got it awhile back, but I use it now and then," Dean explained.

"What model is it?" Benny asked.

"Chevy Impala, 67," Dean answered. Benny nodded in approval.

"That's a nice car," Benny said. Dean suddenly changed his mind and decided he liked Benny. He was the only person at the table Dean didn't loathe at the moment.

"I can show her to you, if you'd like," Dean offered.

"Sorry, can't tonight. Maybe another time though," Benny replied.

"Maybe," Dean said, and the conversation between them died down. Moments later, Cas reappeared with a tray of milkshakes and burgers. He hastily set down all of their food, avoiding Dean's apologetic eyes. He was gone in a flash.

"Why didn't you get anything, Benny?" Abby asked as she swiped some whipped cream off the top of her milkshake.

"I'm not hungry," Benny replied. Now that caught Dean's eye. Benny hadn't eaten lunch that day either. Dean had a hard time believing he didn't want to eat, considering he was the quarterback and all.

"Benny," Dean said, "Where are you from, exactly?" His southern accent was quite out of place for the Midwest.

"Louisiana," He answered, looking at Dean with suspicious eyes.

"Cool," Dean said. He stopped the questions there, he didn't want Benny to freak or anything. "Anyone want a cigarette?" Dean asked the group.

"Hell yeah!" Dick exclaimed, Dean passed them around and soon the table was clouded with smoke. As they smoked and sipped on sweet, creamy milkshakes, the conversation got into sports, classes, gossip, and all sorts of shit.

It got late, the diner emptied, and they were the last big group still there. Occasionally, Cas would come back out to wipe down a table. He would make fleeting eye contact with Dean before scowling and going back to the kitchen. Finally, though, he came to clear off the table and talk about payment.

"The cash register is down today, so you'll have to pay upfront. Here's the bill," Cas said, setting a little slip of paper down on the table. Dick, who had insisted on paying, picked it up and scoffed.

"Twenty-five dollars? Isn't that a little pricey?"

"Maybe you should've considered that when you ordered, Dick," Cas replied.

Dick flashed him a slimy smile and said, "How about you lower the price, and I won't do anything rash."

Unamused, Cas crossed his arms, cocked his hip, and said, "Pay the bill or I'm getting the manager."

"Raphael," Dick said, nodding at his friend like some sort of signal. Raphael took the checkered wax paper, which was covered in ketchup, onions, and all sorts of grime from his burger, and smeared it all over Castiel's clean white shirt. Cas stood there, dumbfounded. His face was bright red with humiliation, and his eyes welled up with tears. He looked to Dean again, hoping that this time he would step in, but once again Dean did nothing.

"Fuck you!" Cas shouted, taking the checkbook and storming back to the kitchen.

When he was gone, Dean piped up and said, "Don't you think that was a little too far? He was just doing his job."

"Nah. He was being an asshole," Dick said with no remorse. Dean shook his head, but didn't want to argue. He was ready to get out of there.

Moments later, another server came out from the back to deal with them. He slammed the bill on the table and in a British accent, said, "Pay the bloody bill and leave. If you don't, I'll get the manager and have him ban you for life."

"You can't do that, I'm a Roman!" Dick argued.

"Do you want to test me?" The brit asked.

"Come on guys, just pay. I wanna' go home," Lisa interjected so they wouldn't cause more of a scene than they already had.

"Fine. Here's your goddamn money," Dick said, tossing a wad of cash in the server's direction.

The brit counted it and said, "Thanks for your cooperation. Now get lost."

"Calm down, we're leaving," Abby said as they all got up from their chairs.

"I'm going to use the restroom. I'll see you all tomorrow," Dean said as they headed for the door.

"See ya, Dean," Lisa said, waving goodbye to him. They left, and Dean turned to the waiter.

"Do you know where Castiel is? I need to talk with him," Dean asked.

"He's outback. He's bloody pissed at you though, because you're an asshole," he said.

"Thanks, I know," Dean said before hurrying outside to find Cas. He ventured outside and found an alleyway where the restaurant kept its dumpsters. At the far end of the alley, he could see Castiel standing outside of a poorly lit doorway, scrubbing his shirt with a wet dishcloth. As Dean approached, he heard quiet sobs coming from Cas, and felt a pang of guilt in his chest.

"Cas?" He called, and Castiel's head jerked up. He saw Dean, wiped the tears from his cheeks, and tried to compose himself.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming back here, Dean," he said, his voice shaky from crying.

"I just...I'm sorry Cas. What happened in there wasn't cool," Dean said, but he knew that wouldn't smooth everything over.

"Why didn't you say that when it was actually happening?" Cas snapped, lowering the dishrag to reveal a horribly stained shirt.

"Come on Cas, if I said anything you know that would look weird," Dean said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I don't care how it would've looked! I thought that you of all people would care enough to say something!" Castiel exclaimed.

"It's just ketchup, I didn't think it was that big of a deal," Dean lied. Cas's face turned from sadness to anger, and Dean instantly regretted what he had said.

"It was humiliating Dean! I smell like onions, my best work shirt has a huge, red stain on it, and I didn't even get tipped! But that's not what I'm upset about! I thought you cared enough about me to stay friends, but clearly your reputation is your priority!" Cas yelled.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course I care about you," Dean said.

"Really, because you're sure not acting like it. Hell, you won't even tell me your last name, of course you don't give a shit about me," Cas said, his voice glum again.

"Winchester. My last name is Winchester. I didn't tell you because I didn't think I would ever see you again! I thought I would move on to the next school and keep you a happy memory! But here we are and I'm in uncharted territory, so excuse me if I don't know how to act around you!" Dean exclaimed.

"Well, Dean Winchester, you could act like a good fucking human for starters. You know, like you did in California? You could drop those dickheads and act like yourself, like the Dean I know," Cas argued, taking a small step toward him.

"You don't know a thing about me! You don't know what I do, the shit I go through, what I've seen and done! You were a one-off, a summer fling. To be honest I was only trying to fuck you. I moved on the second I left, and I suggest you move on too because I'm not going to be 'California Dean' anymore! This is the real world, why can't you get that in your head!" Dean snapped without thinking. He regretted his words the millisecond they left his mouth.

"Get the hell out of here," Cas said, face hot red with rage and hurt.

"I-I didn't mean that I'm sorry," Dean apologized, reaching out to touch his arm, but he flinched away.

"Stop wasting my time and leave!" Cas shouted, shoving Dean away from him.

"Castiel-"

"Fuck off!!" Cas screamed, pushing Dean so hard he almost lost his balance. Dean knew there was no coming back from what he said, so he turned and retreated down the alley without another word. He heard the slam of a door as he neared the corner of the alley. He glanced back, and sure enough, Cas was gone.

"Goddamnit," he muttered to himself as he continued to the Impala. He slid into the car and blasted the intense rock-and-roll he always played when he was in a sour mood. As he drove off, a single tear rolled down his cheek, he hated himself for what he had said and done. He didn't know how he would get Cas to forgive him, but he would start by getting him a new shirt.


	5. Chapter 5

“You know what Anna, you were right,” Cas declared as they entered the bustling school. “I should have known from the beginning he was a shady douchebag. He constantly smokes in places he shouldn’t, he carries a gun everywhere, and he would meet me at the beach with bruises all over his body. What he’s involved with, I don’t know, but I’m glad I’m jumping ship. He’s an asshole.”  He had been ranting to the poor girl the entire way to school. He was still fuming from the previous night, and although he had ranted to Balthazar after Dean had left, he still needed to let off steam. 

“Anyone who hangs out with Dick Roman is, well, a dick! That’s a fact,” Anna said, she wanted to be as supportive as she could. 

“Totally! You know what, I don’t even want to think about him anymore, there are more important things to worry about,” Cas said as they approached his locker. 

“Like the drama club call-out meeting today? I’m so excited, what play do you think we’re doing this year?” Anna asked as Cas opened his locker. 

“I have no clue, all I know is that I want the lead part this year. We’re seniors, we deserve it,” Cas said. He pulled his locker open, and to his surprise, a white t-shirt fell out and onto the ground. 

“What’s that?” Anna asked. Castiel picked it up, he had a good guess about what had happened. A price tag hung from the collar of the shirt, it was brand new. 

“Dean...he must have bought it for me after he left the restaurant yesterday. I was going to get a new one after school, looks like I don’t have to,” Cas mumbled. Although he was happy for the new shirt, he felt like Dean was trying to buy him back, and he didn’t like that feeling. 

“How’d he get the shirt in the locker?” Anna asked as Cas collected his books and stuff. 

“Like I said, he’s a shady douchebag. I’m not surprised he knows how to crack locks,” Cas said, slamming his locker shut and continuing down the hall with her. The second he finished speaking, the first bell rang. 

“I’m gonna go to class, see you later Cas,” Anna said before turning and walking away. Cas continued in that direction, keeping his head down as he passed a few of the jocks. He was certain they knew all about the incident yesterday. As he neared their group, their voices raised and Cas glanced up to see if they were making jokes about him. They weren’t, the loud voices were coming from Gordon Walker and a kid named Dixon. Castiel thought this was odd, Gordon and Dixon were definitely not in the same friend group. Gordon was a well-respected football player, Dixon was a druggie. 

Cas was going to move on and forget about it, but Gordon shouted at the top of his lungs, “The fuck did you say to me?!” And he had to stay and watch the chaos unfold. Dixon said nothing, he only inched closer to Gordan with a nasty sneer. 

“Get out of my face,” Gordon warned in a low, threatening voice. 

Dixon, too dumb to back off, replied, “What are you going to do about it?”  Gordon punched Dixon so hard he sprang a bloody nose. Cas backed up against the wall with the other bystanders and watched in fascination as they proceeded to beat the living hell out of each other. The fight was brutal, at one point Cas was sure he saw a tooth fly into the air, but he could have been seeing things. It took about thirty seconds for teachers to rush over and intervene. The adults struggled to pull Gordon off of Dixon, but eventually, they pried them away from each other. 

“To the office! Now!” The physics teacher shouted at them, but as they began to march them down to the office, Dixon broke free of the teacher’s grasp. He ran at Gordon, grabbed his wrist, sank his teeth into Gordon’s forearm, and smeared blood from one of his own injuries on the wound.

“Did this mother fucker just BITE me?!!” Gordon screamed, clutching his bloody arm in pain. Dixon was detained by two teachers this time and hauled away as he licked the blood from his lips. They also took Gordon away, but in the direction of the school nurse instead.  Everyone who had been watching erupted into chatter about what had just happened. They all dispersed, careful to step around the little pool of blood left by Gordon. Cas rolled his eyes, chalked it up to the fact that Dixon was on crack or something, and moved on with his day like it was nothing. 

\----------------- 

It was fourth hour, Castiel’s period with Dean, and news about the fight had spread to everyone at the school. It seemed to be the only thing people wanted to talk about. For Cas, that was the last thing he was thinking about. All he could think about was Dean sitting somewhere behind him, and he almost forgot all about the fight. That was until the vice principal came in. 

“Castiel Novak, come with me please,” she said from the doorway. Castiel, petrified, took a couple of seconds to get up. 

“Go on, Castiel,” Mr. Miller said from the chalkboard. He hastily collected his things and left with the vice principal. He followed behind her, tapping the strap of his backpack anxiously. 

“Am I in trouble?” Cas asked timidly. 

“No,” she said, “The principal would like to ask you a few questions, though.” That didn’t help one bit. Cas looked away from her curly blonde hair and at his feet, he hoped he didn’t die of fear in there. He'd never been called to the principle's office before. They arrived at the principal’s office, and when they stepped in the principal was on a phone call. 

“Do you think we’ll get sued for this?” He asked in a British accent. He was silent as he listened to whoever was on the other end. “I don’t know! I’ve never had a student bite another before!” He snapped.  There was another moment of silence before the principal just sighed and hung up the phone. He gestured to the seat across from his desk, and Cas sat. 

“Thank you, Lilith, you can go,” he said, and the thin, blonde woman left the office, closing the door behind her. Cas sat face to face with the man all the students called “Crowley”. He was short and always wore a black suit, he was an eccentric man the students liked to make fun of. 

“Sorry you had to hear that phone call Castiel, today has been strange,” Crowley said with a slight laugh, but Cas wasn’t laughing. He just wanted to know why he was there. Crowley observed his nervous silence and said, “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. As you probably know, there was an altercation this morning, and a little birdy told me you saw everything happen. Is that correct?” 

“Yes sir,” Cas replied with a nod. 

“So, you saw how the fight started?” 

“Yes sir,” Cas repeated. 

“Would you please tell me what happened?” Crowley asked as he prepared to jot down Castiel’s statement. 

“Well,” Cas began, “I was going to first hour. I heard raised voices, and at first, I brushed it off as nothing. The hallways are loud sometimes. Then they started shouting and getting in each other’s faces. I don’t know what started the argument, but Dixon wouldn’t get out of Gordon’s face, so Gordon punched him. Then-” 

“So Gordon started the fight?” Crowley interrupted. 

“Technically, yes, he turned it physical. But Dixon was asking for it,” Castiel answered. 

“OK. Thank you Castiel, that’s all I needed,” Crowley said, looking up from his small set of notes and setting down his pen. 

“Really? But I didn’t finish,” Cas said. 

“All I needed to know was who started the fight. You can head back to class,” Crowley said. Relief flooded every bit of Castiel’s body and he left the office in a hurry. Lilith wrote him a pass, and with that, he went back to fourth hour to be tormented by Dean’s presence. 

\---------------

That day after school, Castiel met with all of his friends outside the auditorium. His day had been exhausting. People had gone up to him all day asking about the damn fight, and Cas was tired of repeating the same thing over and over again. So when it was finally time for the drama club call-out meeting, he was glad to get his mind off of Dixon and Gordon, and onto his favorite type of drama.  Not only was this the first drama club meeting of the year, but Ms Hanscum was going to tell them what the fall play (or musical) would be. 

“I think it’s West Side Story,” Charlie said as they took their seats in the second row of the auditorium. 

“Why?” Alfie asked. 

“I don’t know, just a vibe,” Charlie said. 

“Hey Cas,” Anna said, “What if she chose Grease? How funny would that be?” 

“She won't. She can't,” Cas replied. 

Balthazar leaned over Alfie and said, “I don’t think it would be too bad. Cas, you wouldn’t make a terrible John Travolta.” 

“We look nothing alike,” Cas huffed in disbelief. 

“Actually, I think you might be able to pull it off,” Charlie commented.

“No guys, I don’t know if I’m the right person to play Danny. Besides, the topic hits a little too close to home,” Cas said. There was no way he could be the lead in a musical like Grease, he didn’t think he was good enough. Ms. Hanscum walked in with the president of the club, Rowena, and everyone quieted. 

“Welcome to drama club! Whether you’re a freshman just discovering theatre or a senior who may never be on stage again, you can find a place here,” Ms. Hanscum said in her thick Minnesotan accent. “Now, let’s get acquainted with each other. We’re going to play a game, split into groups of five.” 

One hour later, and the meeting was winding down to an end. They had done improv games, seniors had talked about drama club, freshmen talked about why they were interested in drama, Ms. Hanscum went down the rules. It was a typical callout meeting. But as it got closer and closer to the end, everyone got antsy. The play hadn’t been revealed yet, and everyone was at their threshold of patience. As people went to pick up their things and wait for the final announcement, it was dead quiet. 

Ms. Hanscum walked back on the stage and said, “Now’s the time you’ve all been waiting for. The fall musical this year will be, drum roll please: Grease!”  The entire room gasped with erupted into excited chatter, all except Castiel. 

"Dammit!” He exclaimed, resisting the urge to slam his backpack to the ground. His friends looked at him with irritating smirks. “Screw you guys, I’m leaving,” Cas said. He stormed toward the exit of the auditorium, this wasn’t very funny to him. He was trying to forget that summer ever happened, how was he supposed to do that if he was reminded of it every day?  Then again, what if his friends were right. He of all people could relate to Danny, maybe playing him, in a weird way, would give him closure about his failed relationship. He stopped at his locker to grab the shirt Dean had given him and left the school deep in thought. 


	6. Chapter 6

That evening Dean, Ash, and Benny went to Gordon’s house to check upon him. He hadn’t been at school that day, so Ash and Benny wanted to visit and see if everything was all right and if he would play in the game on Friday. Dean tagged along because he had nothing else to do, and he wanted to see how Gordon was reacting to the bite.  Ash knocked on the door, and as they waited, said, “I don’t think he’s going to play tomorrow Benny. I don’t think anyone could hold a football if some crackhead bit their arm.” 

“I want to make sure,” Benny said. Dean knew he too was there for other reasons. He had a gut feeling Benny wasn’t being honest about his identity, but he had no evidence to support this, so he said nothing to his father. He didn’t want to get an innocent kid killed if Benny wasn’t what Dean thought he was. The door swung open, and Gordon stood on the other side looking fit as a fiddle. He had no bandages on his arm, or no bruises on his face, he looked as if he hadn’t gotten into a violent altercation just the day before. 

“Why don’t you come in and shut the door, it’s a bit bright out,” Gordon said, and they stepped into the nice, medium-sized house. As they entered the living room, Dean noted the closed blinds and coldness. 

“It’s awfully dark in here, don’t you think?” Benny asked as he also examined the room thoroughly. 

"I like it this way. Why don’t you guys sit down?” Gordon said, plopping down into a recliner and pulling it toward the couch. “Why are you guys over? Shouldn’t you be doing homework or some shit?” Gordon asked, laughing at his own jest. 

“We were worried about your health,” Ash said, gesturing to his arm. 

“No need. My arm is fine, no bite marks, infections, or anything. It’s like the injury disappeared overnight,” Gordon said, pulling back his sleeve to reveal flawless, unpunctured skin. Alarms went off in Dean’s head. 

“That’s a little weird, ain’t it?” Benny said. 

“Maybe, but I don’t care. I’d rather not have a fucking bite mark in my arm,” Gordon said. 

“So,” Ash said, “Does this mean you’ll be playing in the game on Friday?” The chipper grin fell from Gordon’s face, and a scowl took its place. 

“No. I got suspended for two weeks. I’m not allowed to play. I’m not even allowed in the stadium,” Gordon exclaimed with a burning anger in his eyes. 

“That’s bullshit, you were the one who got bitten,” Dean said. 

“I know. Apparently, since I started the fight, I get the same punishment as that whack job. It’s jank,” Gordon lamented. 

“How do they know you started the fight? Who ratted?” Ash asked. 

“From what I’ve heard, it was that Novak kid,” Gordon said. Dean’s stomach dropped. 

“Why do you think that?” Dean inquired. 

“According to Lisa, they called him into the office during fourth hour, right around the time I got the call saying I was suspended. I swear to god, I’m gonna’ rip that queer’s throat out,” Gordon growled like a bloodthirsty animal. 

“Don’t you think that’s excessive? It’s only two weeks,” Benny tried to reason, but Gordon wasn’t having it. 

“No! You know the team rules. If you get suspended, no games for the rest of the season. This is my senior year and I’m not allowed to play, somebody has to pay,” Gordon said, glaring at his clenched fists. Dean was frozen with fear for Cas. He didn’t know what Gordon was capable of, he had to intervene somehow. 

“Don’t do anything rash, that’s all I’m saying,” Benny warned, but Dean could tell Gordon wasn't going to take that advice. 

“I’ll do what I think is necessary,” Gordon declared, sending shivers down Dean’s spine. He would have to tell his father about this, he saw no other choice. 

“Enough with this shit,” Ash said, “Let’s play some Mario.” 

  
  


\----------------

“A vampire infestation? Damn, it’s so obvious, how could I miss it?” Bobby grumbled after Dean told them about Gordon. 

“We all make mistakes. But it’s clear what’s going on here, and we can eliminate the threat before anyone else gets hurt. Bobby, grab your machete, we’re hunting some vampire,” John said, jumping to his feet. 

“Woh, hold on, do you even know where you're going? How many there are?” Dean questioned as they sprung into action. 

“We sniffed out their hidey-hole this morning. We just needed to know what we were dealing with. Luckily, vampires are nice and simple. One swipe to the head and you're done,” Bobby said. 

“Are you even prepared to hunt tonight? It’s late, they’ll all be awake, thirsty, you’ll be walking into a death trap.” 

“But they won’t be expecting us, will they? Besides, if Justina is there we have to save her. It’s better to get rid of this problem sooner than later. Dean, stay here with Sammy, make sure he does his homework. If I die, you know the drill. You ready Bobby?” 

“Yep,” Bobby said, “Let’s go.” They left the house, leaving Dean to figure out dinner for Sammy. He went up to Sam’s room to get him up to date on everything happening. The door was open a crack, so he pushed it open and found Sam doing homework at his desk. 

“Who left?” Sam asked, looking up from his desk. 

“Dad and Bobby. We’re on our own,” Dean replied. 

Sam frowned and said, “Dad said we would watch a movie tonight.” 

“I know. Something came up, they’re on an impromptu hunt,” Dean said, going over to see what he was working on. 

“What are they hunting?” 

“Bloodsuckers. Hopefully they’ll be back by morning,” Dean said, but Sam was visibly unhappy. “Tell you what, you finish your Algebra, I’ll make whatever you want for dinner, and we watch a movie instead,” Dean offered. 

“Fine,” Sam sighed. 

“What grub do you want?” Dean asked. 

“Uhhh, fried chicken would be nice,” Sam said. 

“Awesome! I’ll run out and get some Kentucky Fried Chicken. I’ll lock the door and leave the shotgun at the bottom of the staircase,” Dean said. “Oh! And think about what you want to watch.” He ruffled his brother’s hair then left the room, shutting the door behind him. He did the normal routine for when he left Sam alone. He loaded the shotgun with salt rounds, locked all three padlocks, and dusted the doorknob with salt. Knowing what was out there, he could never be too careful. The drive to and from KFC took a little over ten minutes. The entire time, he was a nervous wreck. Whenever he left Sam alone, all he could think about was how vulnerable he was, despite the fact the kid could get a headshot by the time he was ten. When he got home, he found Sam waiting on the couch with a VHS tape in his hands. 

“Whatcha got there?” Dean asked as he sat beside him on the couch. 

“The Empire Strikes Back,” Sam said, holding up the black and red box.

“Nice. Why don’t you dig into this chicken. I’ll put the movie in,” Dean said. Sam pulled the lid off and the delicious aroma of fried chicken filled the room. Dean put the movie in, the famous yellow text appeared on the screen, and they settled in for the movie. They devoured the chicken in under thirty minutes. When it was gone, Sam grew sleepy and rested his head on Dean’s shoulder. 

“Dean, I need advice on something,” Sam whispered after a brief moment of silence. 

“What’s that?” Dean asked. 

“I-I met a girl,” Sam said shyly. 

“Oooh, is she cute?” 

“Yeah. But the problem is that I met another girl too.”

“Sam the lady’s man! I like it, it rhymes,” Dean said, grinning to himself like an idiot. 

“No it doesn’t,” Sam pointed out.

“Eh, close enough. Now tell me what’s eating ya’ about these girls,” Dean said.

“It’s kinda dumb, I should be able to make a decision, but they’re both so cool! Ruby is awesome, she rides a motorcycle, has a pierced tongue, and she’s a sophomore. I could see myself having a lot of fun with her, but then there’s Jess. Jess is really pretty, she’s smart, nice, funny, I like her a lot too. They both asked me to go to their houses before the game tomorrow, and I don’t know who to choose. You date a lot of girls, I thought you might know what to do,” Sam explained. 

“That’s a tough one. I think the best thing you can do is go with your gut. The one that makes you happy, makes you feel comfortable being yourself, choose her. Of course, I don’t know a lot about dating. Ask me about getting laid and I’ll tell you everything, but this sort of stuff I have no clue,” Dean said, thinking about how bad he’d screwed it up with Cas. 

“I think you’re right though. My gut is telling me to go with Jess; Ruby scares me a bit,” Sam said, yawning at the end. 

“Good choice. I had a weekend fling with a girl who had a pierced tongue, she was bat shit crazy,” Dean said, but Sam wasn’t listening. He fell asleep, his soft snores proved it. 

With Sam asleep on his shoulder, Dean felt at peace. Most would think their close relationship was weird, but Dean didn’t care. He loved his brother more than anything on the planet; he was glad to be Sam’s pillow.  He focused back on the movie, and after a while, he too found himself drifting off. He fell asleep after Vader’s big reveal, and when he woke up, the sun peeked through the blinds. Sam was gone, probably up in his room. Dean woke up, stretched, and ventured off to see if anyone else was awake. Dirty, bloody footprints had been tracked across the floor.    


“At least they got home alive,” Dean said to himself before staggering to the kitchen to make some coffee. Bobby sat at the table reading the paper and eating toast. Coffee was already being made, so Dean sat across from Bobby instead.

“Good morning sleeping beauty,” Bobby greeted. 

“Morning. How’d the hunt go?” Dean asked. 

“It went well. We killed most of ‘em. Some escaped though. Your dad and I think there’s another hideout somewhere nearby, but we’re not sure where,” Bobby said. 

“I’ll see if I can dig anything up, the popular kids always know the dirt on everything,” Dean said. 

“Good. Do you have any plans for the night?” Bobby asked, wiping crumbs from his scruffy beard. 

“I’m going to the football game. Sam is too, he’s got a date,” Dean said. Bobby raised his eyebrows with intrigue. 

“Little Sammy’s growing up,” Bobby said. “Looks like the coffee’s ready,” he said before the mood in the room could get too serious. “Better grab some and get Sam. Don’t be late.”  Dean filled a mug with coffee, but Sam came down before Dean could even get him. His hair was combed back, and he wore a nice, plaid shirt in place of the hand-me-down jacket he normally wore. 

“Sam, it’s a football game, not Prom,” Dean laughed as Sam got a granola bar from the pantry. 

“He’s gotta look good for his new girlfriend,” Bobby interjected. Sam’s face burned bright red as he glared at Dean. 

“You told Bobby?!” Sam exclaimed. 

“Come on Sam, we have to leave if we don’t want to be late,” Dean said. 

“Dean you’re such a jerk!” Sam whined as they gathered their backpacks from the living room. 

“Say that again and you’re not getting a ride, bitch,” Dean quipped. 

“Have a good day, ya’ idjits,” Bobby called from the kitchen as they left the house. Finally, it was quiet in the kitchen again.


	7. Chapter 7

Castiel and Balthazar entered the stadium with excitement. They both loved the sport, despite the stereotypes that said they shouldn’t. Castiel had grown up on football, and Balthazar loved to watch the boys run around in tight pants. The best part, however, was the time they spent with their friends. Getting riled up in the stands was so fun, and now that they were seniors it added another layer of excitement to the whole thing. 

“Go, go, go Wendigos!” 

The chant of the cheerleaders could be heard from outside the stadium as they hyped the crowd for the game about to ensue. Cas and Balthazar climbed the metal stairs to where the student body was sitting and looked up at the sea of black and white above them. 

“I’m so excited!” Cas exclaimed as he looked all around for Charlie’s bright red hair. 

“Me too! We’re going to do so good with Benny as our QB, I had PE with him last year, he’s a powerhouse,” Balthazar said. 

“I hope so...there she is!” Cas said, pointing to the middle of the senior section. They ascended up the stairs, and Cas ignored Dean’s gaze from his aisle seat at the lower end of the bleachers. 

“Oh my god!” Charlie screamed as she welcomed the guys into the crowd of students. She hugged Cas tightly after he sat down beside her. Her breath was rank with the smell of alcohol. 

“Are you drunk already?” Balthazar asked. 

“You betcha!” She laughed in Castiel’s ear. That was the tradition. She would sneak in a six-pack of beer and share it with Balthazar, the only other person in the group OK with underage drinking. 

“I can’t believe you started without me! Pass me some booze woman, let’s get wasted!” Charlie handed him a Coors, and seconds later froth spilled all over his and Cas’s clothing. 

“You guys are so gross!” Cas shouted over the boisterous marching band. 

“Come on Cas, get off your high horse and join us! You know you want some!” Charlie said, waving a can in his face. Cas had to admit, he saw how much fun they had every game and desired to join them, but his morals wouldn’t allow it. 

“Not really!” He replied.

“Are you surrreeee???” Charlie slurred. Cas stared at the can a little longer. He knew he shouldn’t, his stepdad would be furious if he knew, but for the first time in three years, his rebellious side won. 

“It couldn’t hurt to have a little. Senior year no rules, right?” Cas said, taking the can like it was a bomb about to explode. 

“That’s it mate! Drink up!” Balthazar said as Cas popped the top of the can open. He hesitated, he’d never done anything this bad before; well, except for Dean but that was a different story. He closed his eyes and took a tentative sip: it was vile. It took all the self-control he had not to spit all over the people in front of him.

“It tastes like piss, doesn’t it?” Charlie asked, watching his twisted face in amusement. He nodded, but without thinking took another sip. The addicting burn of the alcohol was enough to keep him coming back for more. Just then, Anna and Alfie appeared. They saw Cas with a beer in hand and glared at the three of them.

“Why are you corrupting our sweet little angel?” Anna asked she pushed Balthazar further down the row. 

“Hey, he asked for it,” Charlie said. 

“Yeah, I make my own choices!” Cas declared. 

“See, he’s fine,” Balthazar said. 

“Just keep an eye on him,” Anna warned as she got comfy in her seat. From there on out, the football game was a blur for Cas. He remembered the first touchdown for their team and he remembered his eardrums being assaulted by the screams of ecstatic teenagers and alumni. Besides that, he had very little memory. He had never had alcohol before, one Coors was enough to get him tipsy. Having two was a terrible idea, but that didn’t stop him. The night became much more vivid during halftime. The Wendigos were winning with a twenty point lead, and Castiel’s bladder was about to burst. When the line to leave the stadium died down, Cas stood up to go find the bathroom. 

“Easy there, where are you going?” Anna asked as Cas tried to climb over her. 

“Gotta’ pee,” he mumbled as he tripped over her legs. 

“One of us has to go with you, preferably one of us who’s sober,” Anna said, grabbing his hand so he couldn’t go any further. 

“I’ll go with him,” Alfie offered, as he was on the aisle. 

“Sure. Be safe,” Anna said. So Alfie got up and took Castiel’s elbow so he wouldn’t fall down the stairs or something. He escorted Cas down to the area where the popcorn stand and bathrooms were. 

“You’re such a lightweight,” Alfie said as they approached the bathroom. 

“Don’t body shame me!” Castiel snapped. 

“Dude-you know what, just go to the bathroom. Try to get back before half time is over,” Alfie said, holding the door open for him. Cas nodded and entered the smelly restroom. The line was so long Cas knew he wouldn’t be able to wait, so found the back door and went out that way, forgetting that Alfie was waiting for him outside the other entrance. 

In his drunken state, he looked around at the crowded area and decided he had to find a better place to whiz. He made the stupid choice to leave the stadium and pee in the empty parking lot. 

He went over to a grassy strip of ground and relieved himself with a long, satisfied exhale. He turned around to make the trek back to the stadium, but he was greeted by two shadows in the darkness. They stood there, watching him as he adjusted his pants. A shiver ran down Castiel’s spine and his heart began to race, he was beyond uncomfortable.

“Can I help you?” He asked. They said nothing. One of the shadows stepped closer, Cas recognized him as Gordon Walker. His eyes were dilated with bloodlust and rage, and he clenched his fists as he stared Cas down. “What are you doing here?” Cas asked, his voice small and terrified. 

“I’m here for revenge,” Gordon growled. A million thoughts raced through Cas’s mind, he didn’t know what Gordon wanted revenge for, all he knew was that he had to get out of there. The second figure got close enough for Cas to see, and the entire situation got more puzzling than it already was. It was Dixon. 

“I thought you hated each other,” Cas said as he took a step backwards. 

“Dixon gave me a gift. I owe him everything, but I have much to learn. I’m starting my journey with you, it’s what you get for being a loose-tongued bitch,” Gordon said. 

“What the hell does that even mean?!” Cas exclaimed, exasperated by the vagueness.

“It means that we’re going to kill you,” Dixon stated. That was the only thing Castiel understood. Immediately, Cas sprinted in the opposite direction. He racked his brain to recall where he had parked his car, but with all of the adrenaline and beer coursing through his veins, he had no clue. It wouldn’t matter anyway, his speed was no match for the creatures pursuing him. 

Gordon caught up to him and without hesitation shoved him to the ground with inhuman strength. He collided with the asphalt, only breaking his fall with his hands. Even then, his head hit the concrete and drew blood. Cas sobbed as he tried to crawl away, but Gordon caught up to him and forced him onto his back. Dixon and Gordon hovered above him, and for a moment, Castiel thought he saw fangs behind Gordon’s lips, but in his state of mind he couldn’t be sure. Tears rolled down his face as he prepared for torture or death, but neither came. 

“Leave him the fuck alone!” A loud, furious voice yelled. Gordon whirled around to face his challenger and was met with a gun pressed between his eyes. It was too dark for Cas to see who his savior was, and his hands were too scuffed up to support his body, so he stayed glued to the parking lot, praying he would get out with no more injuries. 

“What are you going to do about it? Shoot us? Go ahead, give it a shot,” Dixon jeered. 

“You won’t be so cocky when you have a bullet covered in Dead Man’s Blood between your ribs,” Cas’s savior said. Castiel knew who it was now, that low, gravely voice could only belong to one person. 

“Dean?” He cried out. Dean said nothing to Cas, he was busy. 

“Come on Gordon,” Dixon said, “This fight isn’t worth it.” 

“Why? He can’t hurt us, not with a gun,” Gordon argued. 

“I’ll explain later, let’s just get out of here,” Dixon said. Gordon nodded in agreement, and with that, they vanished into the night. When they were gone, Dean rushed to Cas’s side and helped him sit up. Dean went to touch his hands, but Cas hissed in pain and pulled back. 

“What did they do to you baby?” Dean asked as he stroked Cas’s hair gently and stared down at him with caring eyes. 

“I don’t know,” Cas cried, still in shock from everything, “I was peeing, and then they just attacked, they wanted to kill me. I don’t know why. I never hurt them.” 

“They’re evil, OK, evil. Cas, your head is bleeding,” Dean noted after feeling hot liquid on his fingers. 

“Yeah, a little,” Cas said. 

“Come on, I’ll take you to my car and fix you up,” Dean said. He got Cas to his feet and guided him to his car with his arm around his waist. He had Cas sit down on the driver's side, and he reached up to turn on the dome lights. 

“Am I gonna’ die?” Cas asked, worried about the small gash in his forehead. 

“No,” Dean laughed, “But I think you’re gonna have a bad hangover. Even after all that you’re tipsy. Never knew you could drink like that.” 

“Me neither,” Cas said, earning another airy laugh from Dean. 

“Wait here, I’ll go get my first aid kit,” Dean said, reluctantly tearing his gaze away. Cas waited patiently for him to come back.

When Dean reappeared with his little medical box, Cas asked, “How d'you know to come rescue me?” 

“Benny, Ash and I went to see Gordon yesterday. He was mad because he thought you got him suspended. I had a gut feeling I would have to keep an eye on you tonight,” Dean said as he examined the damage to Castiel’s hands. They were skinned, bloody, rocks and shards of glass were embedded into them. Cas jolted every time Dean got close to touching his palms.

“Thank you,” Cas replied, staring down at Dean with adoring eyes. Dean rummaged through his box and pulled out a pair of tweezers. He squatted and began to remove the rocks and glass piece by piece. 

“It’s just like California,” Cas noted as Dean worked diligently. 

“I guess you’re right,” Dean agreed. 

“But it makes me wonder, how do you know to do this stuff? You fixed my hand in Cali too.”

“In my dad’s line of work, injury is inevitable. I had to learn how to dress wounds in middle school,” Dean answered. 

“What does he do? Your dad?” 

“You know I can’t tell you, we've talked about this.” Dean took out the biggest piece of glass and Cas visibly winced. Dean paused instantly to make sure he was fine. “How bad did that hurt? Do you need me to be more gentle?” 

“You’re fine,” Cas said. Dean continued, and they sat in warm silence for a second or so. “Dean, you confuse me,” Cas said to break that silence. 

“How so?” 

“Two days ago you told me I was a one-off, you made me feel like I didn’t matter to you, like I was a burden. Now you’re here treating me like I’m porcelain and making me feel like you care about me. I wish I knew how you actually felt,” Cas admitted. Dean faltered in his movements, he looked up at Cas with furrowed eyebrows, not because he was frustrated, but because he was dead serious. 

“Cas, I need you to understand that I didn’t mean a word I said, not a fucking word. You do matter to me, you’re more than a summer fling, and that scares me more than anything. So I said stupid, stupid things, and I’m sorry. I truly am. You have to believe me,” Dean said, undoubtedly sincere. Looking into his eyes which were pleading for forgiveness, he knew Dean meant what he said.

“I forgive you,” Cas said. Dean looked up at him with a heart-melting smile, then continued on his hands. “Does this mean you’re willing to give us another try?” Cas asked. 

Dean’s smile fell and he said, “If I could, I would. But there’s a good chance I’ll be leaving again by the end of September. There’s not enough time.” 

“I understand,” Cas said, disheartened. “Are you almost done?” He asked, looking down at his hands. 

“Just about. I’ll have to wipe your hands with disinfectant and give you a band-aid for your head, and I’ll be done,” Dean explained, taking out the last little pebble. 

“Is the disinfectant going to hurt?” Cas asked as Dean pulled out a single-use wipe. 

“Yeah. It’ll sting like a bitch, but I have to do it,” Dean said. 

“OK, just get it over with,” Cas said, preparing himself. Dean gently lowered the wipe to his hand and the stinging pain hit Cas like a freight train. He hissed and tried yanking his hand away, but Dean held him there. To help him cope, Dean rubbed his arm softly. He set aside the bloody wipe, got a new one, then repeated the process. 

“God, I hate those things!” Cas declared as Dean quickly did the second hand.

“At least you're done with them,” Dean said as he pulled out a large band-aid for Cas’s head. As he peeled it, Castiel’s friends showed up looking worried sick. 

“There he is! Cas what the hell happened?!” Anna shouted as they approached rapidly. Dean placed the band-aid over the gash, cleared up the remaining blood with another wipe, and finished. He stepped aside to give him room and let him talk to his concerned friends. 

“Yeah,” Alfie said, “How did you slip past me? I thought you had died on the urinal or something!” 

Cas was still watching Dean with starry eyes as he spoke. “The line in the bathroom was too long, so I went to pee in the parking lot. Two guys attacked me, but Dean scared them away and took care of my injuries.” 

“Hi, I’m Dean. We haven’t met yet, have we?” Dean said. 

“We have. You’re a cunt,” Balthazar said, glaring daggers at him. 

“Balthazar!” Cas exclaimed with irritation, getting up from the driver’s seat. 

“He left you bawling the last time you saw him!” Balthazar replied. 

“We made up,” Cas told him. 

“Oh come on Cas-” 

“Thanks for patching him up,” Charlie interrupted, “We appreciate it, but we have to take him home before he gets into more trouble.” 

“What if Gordon comes for me again tonight?” Cas asked, looking to Dean. 

“Does Gordon know where you live?” Dean asked. 

“Yeah,” Cas told him with no explanation. 

“Why don’t you stay at my place then,” Anna offered. “I can drive you because I’m sober, and my parents are always happy to have you over.” 

“That sounds good. Let’s get out of here, I’m sick of this parking lot,” Cas said. “Bye Dean, thanks again,” he called as he walked away with Anna, staring at him as long as time would allow. 

Anna had to make him face forward, eventually. “You’ll see him on Monday, Romeo.” 

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

* _ slam*  _ Dean woke up to his third-hour teacher, a guy Dean had nicknamed Chuckles, glaring down at him. 

“This is the third time this week I’ve caught you sleeping in my class. Do I bore you, Mr. Winchester?” He asked, picking up the book he had used to wake Dean up. 

“Yep,” Dean yawned. 

Chuckles placed his hands on his hips and said, “Never in my life have I been so blatantly disrespected.” 

“That’s the worst you’ve been disrespected? Chuckles, you should be grateful if your life is that nice,” Dean replied. 

“What did you just call me?” 

“Oh, sorry. It’s Mr. Chuckles, isn’t it?” He was fuming. If steam started coming out of his ears, Dean wouldn’t be surprised. 

“Detention. Now pay attention, or I’ll get you suspended,” Chuckles threatened. He moved on with the lesson, and Dean begrudgingly paid attention. He was only taking this class for the credits, he didn’t give a shit about the history of Europe.  The bell rang ten minutes later, which frustrated Dean. He’d already slept through most of the hour, why couldn’t Chuckles have let him be and scolded him the next day? He didn’t dwell on it, knowing he’d be in a bad mood for the rest of the day if he did. He never liked to be in a bad mood for fourth hour, it was his favorite class of the day. 

Like always, he entered Ms. Miller’s room and took a seat behind Lisa. Like always, he listened to Lisa babble as he watched for Cas to walk through the door, just so they could make fleeting eye contact. Like always, Cas walked in seconds before the bell, met Dean’s gaze for a split second, and plopped down into his seat hurriedly to hide his blush. 

“Dean, are you paying attention?” Lisa asked after seeing he wasn’t entirely fixed on her. 

“What? Yeah!” Dean said, focusing back on her. 

“What did I say then?” 

“Uhhh, something about french fries?” Dean guessed. 

“Dean! I was asking you to go with Zach’s with me tonight!” She exclaimed angrily. 

“Yeah I’ll go to Zach’s with you,” Dean said. He wasn’t ashamed of it, he liked Lisa. She was cool, funny, easy to talk to, somebody Dean could be friends with. He wasn’t interested in anything more, he just had to find a way to let her down easy. 

“Sick!” 

“But I have detention. We’ll have to go after 4,” he told her. 

“Why did you have to get detention again?” Lisa whined. Ms. Miller called her name for attendance, and their conversation was forced to an end. 

\-------------

Dean sat behind a dweeby, scrawny kid in detention. He couldn’t tell if he was a freshman or a sophomore, but he was certainly an underclassman who didn’t know what deodorant was. Dean wasn’t allowed his walkman in detention, so he wound up listening in on the kid’s conversation with his friend, which was far from interesting. 

“What are you doing after school today Garth?” The other kid said. 

“I was gonna’ go home and do homework, why?” Garth asked. 

“Steve and I were going to break into that creepy asylum. It’s a right of passage for the freshman soccer team,” the kid said. Dean perked up at the sound of that.

“But I’m not, nor will I ever be, on the soccer team,” Garth replied. 

“Doesn’t mean you can’t come with. The asylum is supposed to be super haunted and shit, I thought you were into that kind of stuff,” the other kid said. Dean glanced at the teacher who was too distracted by grading to discipline them for talking and leaned forward to butt himself into the conversation. 

“What’s this about a haunted asylum?” He asked Garth.

“Were you eavesdropping on us?” Garth asked with a weirded out expression on his face. 

“Answer me, kid. Tell me about the asylum,” Dean said in a voice that was slightly threatening, but not so threatening the kid wouldn’t talk. 

“Uh, well, there’s this forest north of here, out In the forest, there’s this abandoned, scary-ass asylum that looms over like everything,” the other kid explained. 

“You said it was haunted? How so?” Dean asked. 

“That whole forest is supposed to be haunted, but the asylum is the center of it all. It’s rumored the doctors used to perform cruel experiments on the patients, ya know, lobotomies and electroshock therapy and crap. It was shut down in 1933 when the patients revolted and violently murdered each and every sane person in the building. When things were under control, the military came and executed all the patients who revolted. The spirits of the doctors and patients are said to wander the asylum and the woods,” Garth told him. 

“It’s all just gossip. Nobody knows what actually caused the asylum to shut down, but that’s the most popular theory. That’s not the only thing going on in that area, though. Satanists go out there worship the devil, three murders have happened there in the past decade, and if you stray off the path getting lost is inevitable. It’s freaky out there, which is why the soccer team uses it to haze the freshman. They haven’t done it in four years though, the last freshman who went out there died, but I plan to bring the tradition back,” the other kid explained. 

“So nobody’s been to the asylum in years?” Dean asked. 

“No one from the soccer team. I don’t know about the other sports,” the kid said. Dean leaned back in his seat with furrowed eyebrows. 

“Very interesting,” he muttered to himself. Garth and his friend turned away from him when they realized he was no longer interested. His curiosity got to him, he had to get inside that asylum. 

\-------------------

"So Gordan is practically a-wall…" Dean sat across from Lisa, he sipped his milkshake and selectively listened to her talk about the drama going on within the football team. 

“...and Gabe isn’t talking to Raphael anymore, which is really bad for practice because nothing is being communicated! It’s so fucking frustrating, how am I supposed to cheer for a team that sucks because they won’t talk?” Lisa ranted. She bit her whipped cream covered cherry angrily, waiting for Dean to give her consolidation. 

“Gabe’s only the kicker, he doesn’t need to communicate too much,” he pointed out. 

Lisa rolled her eyes and said, “Maybe, but some people are on Gabe’s side and some support Raphael, the tension is horrible!”  Dean hadn’t exactly been one hundred percent focused on her story about why Gabe was mad at Raphael, so he couldn’t really pick a side. He just had to nod and pretend like he cared what was going on. 

“Honestly,” She said, “I just hope they get their shit together before homecoming. That’s the only game that matters in the next two weeks.” She looked at Dean with excited, expecting eyes. “Are you going to homecoming, Dean?” She asked, brushing her hair behind her ear bashfully. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Dances aren’t really my thing,” Dean said, hoping she would get the hint. 

“Maybe you just haven’t gone with the right person,” Lisa said, and Dean’s heart dropped, this wasn’t going to end well. He was frozen, he had no clue what to say, so he just drank his milkshake. “Come on, Dean!” Lisa eventually exclaimed out of frustration. “I’m throwing myself at you and you won’t say anything!” Dean continued to drink his shake.

“Listen, I like you, Dean, I really do, and since you’re too chicken to ask: will you go to homecoming with me?” Lisa asked. Her brown eyes were hopeful, but when Dean said nothing, they fell to her hands with the realization she was rejected. “I thought you liked me,” She said. 

“I do like you, you’re funny, smart, cool, but I don’t see you in that way. I don’t want to lie to you, my heart just isn’t available,” Dean told her in the softest voice he could muster. Dean prepared himself for the worst reaction. He braced himself for a milkshake on his head, a slap on his face, or a screaming match to start. Instead, Lisa shrugged nonchalantly. 

“OK,” She said before going back to her drink. 

“Wait? You’re not mad?” Dean asked, shocked by her calm reaction. 

“No. I’m not a child Dean, I can handle rejection maturely. You don’t like me that way, that’s fine. It happens, I can move on. Besides, I’m not surprised a guy lookin' like you is taken. I was prepared for disappointment,” Lisa explained. 

“I’m not taken,” Dean told her for some ungodly reason. 

“Then what are you?” 

“It’s a bit complicated,” Dean said, he wished he had said nothing. Lisa studied his shy expression, and a look of realization dawned on her face. 

“It’s that girl from California, isn’t it?” Lisa asked. It felt as if all the air had been punched from his throat. 

“How’d you know?” He asked. 

“The look in your eyes when you told us about her, my gut told me it was more than hot sex on the beach. I have a knack for catching these things,” Lisa said, smirking as he tried to think up an excuse, but he couldn’t. “Why don’t you tell me about her? Who stole your heart, Dean Winchester?” Cas wasn’t working that night, so Dean felt comfortable confiding in her there. 

“Her name is Cassandra,” Dean said. “She has black hair, blue eyes, and the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen.” Heat rushed to his cheeks, and he paused. “Sorry, I feel weird being so sappy,” Dean said. 

“I don’t mind. I think it’s sweet. Don’t hold back, I want to hear all about her,” Lisa said. She rested her head in her hands and listened curiously as Dean continued. 

“She was unlike anyone I’d ever met. She was so innocent and kind, but she wasn’t afraid to sneak out at midnight to sit on the docks with me and stargaze. For the first time, I didn’t want to skip straight to sex, I wanted to take my time, get to know her and build a relationship. I can’t remember the last time I dated someone and didn't, you know... Instead, we went on long drives with no destination, had secret picnics on hidden beaches, and we even went camping one night. I was her first kiss. Then late August rolled around, and we both had to go back to our separate lives. I think about her every day,” Dean said. 

“And you’re not in contact? What the hell Dean why’d you let her go?” Lisa asked. She was beyond frustrated at him. 

“It had to end. I can’t get into serious relationships, not with the way I live,” Dean said. 

“I feel sad for you, but who knows, maybe you’ll meet her again someday,” Lisa suggested. 

“Yeah. Maybe.” Neither of them said a word for an entire minute. They sipped on their milkshakes until Dean remembered the one thing he meant to talk to Lisa about. 

“What’s the deal with the asylum?” Dean asked out of nowhere. 

“What? The asylum? Why do you wanna’ know about that?” 

“Some freshmen were talking about it in detention. They said something interesting about a guy who died there four years ago. Do you know who they were talking about?” Lisa’s entire demeanor changed. Her eyes grew cold, her lips pursed tight, and she tapped her fingers repeatedly against the table. 

“Luther? Yeah, I know about him. Everyone at our school does.” By the look on her face, he knew he had struck a sensitive nerve. It was a nerve he needed to exploit. 

“What happened?” Dean asked in a gentle voice. 

“It was my freshman year, right around this time. Luther wasn’t the most popular kid, but he had his own posse of friends. He’d been in my grade since kindergarten, so I knew him a bit. He was well known for being one of the better soccer players on the team, he wasn’t the best, but he was good. Back then, to haze freshmen, the soccer team would send them into that creepy asylum alone and leave them there for an hour. Luther did it, he thought it was just stupid, harmless fun.” Tears started falling from her eyes. Dean grabbed her hand to comfort her, he’d done this far too many times.

“When they went to get him, they found him dead in the entryway, soaking in a pool of his own blood. I had first hour with his girlfriend, Kate. The heartless bastards didn’t tell her. She found out like the rest of us, over the announcements. Have you ever been in a room with someone when they’ve found out their boyfriend is dead?” 

“ _ Yes.”  _ Dean answered in his head. 

“The scream that girl let out; it was haunting. I still have nightmares. But no, that wasn’t the end of it. He wasn’t even cold when his body was stolen from the morgue,” Lisa said. 

“His body was stolen from the morgue?” 

“Yes! I don’t know what kind of sick fuck you have to be to steal a fourteen-year old’s body, but the thought they could be in this town makes me nauseous,” Lisa said. She wiped away her tears and smeared her eyeliner doing so. 

“Has anybody, student or not, gone back to the asylum?” 

“No. The police boarded that place up the day after Luther’s death. It’s surrounded by barbed wire and everything. If anyone is caught anywhere near the property, they’re arrested and fined. I don’t know who would be dumb enough to break in,” Lisa said. Dean sighed, his family was dumb enough. 

“I’m sorry, that must have been hard to relive,” Dean said as Lisa regained her composure. 

“It’s alright, none of it was your fault,” Lisa sniffled. Dean bit his lip awkwardly, he was ready for their excursion to end, and he knew she was too. 

“Are you done with your shake?” He asked. 

“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” Lisa said. So that’s what they did. Dean drove her home to her medium-sized house in the suburbs. He walked her up to her door, where they said their goodbyes. 

“Have a good night, Lisa,” Dean said with a friendly smile. 

“You too Dean, and get some rest, don’t get another detention because you fell asleep in class,” Lisa said. She gave him a quick, platonic hug before disappearing into the house. Dean drove home happy he could officially call Lisa a friend. 


	9. Chapter 9

Cas rolled up to church in his family’s huge minivan. With four children, his parents needed the giant metal box to get around. Even so, it was cramped considering three of them were teenagers. 

“Michael, get the hell on your side!” Gabe yelled, shoving Michael so he was far away.

“Gabriel! Watch your mouth!” Their stepfather snapped. 

“Gag me with soap then!” Gabe quipped as he eagerly climbed out of the car. 

Their stepdad was bright red with anger, Castiel’s mother touched her husband's arm and whispered, “Calm yourself, Zachariah, no use getting mad before the sermon.” 

“Of course Naomi. I’m going inside, take care of the kids please,” he said before he too left the car. Castiel, Michael, and Hannah all climbed out of the car dressed to the nines. Gabriel, on the other hand, was in his letterman like he was every Sunday. 

“You know your father hates it when you curse, right?” Naomi said as they strolled towards the entrance of the biggest church in Sioux Falls. 

“He’s not my father, you of all people know that,” Gabriel grumbled. Naomi didn’t think twice before slapping Gabe so hard it left a mark. 

“Not a word for the rest of the morning, do you hear me?” She seethed. 

“Yes ma’am,” Gabriel said with a sarcastic salute. Cas, feeling awkward, hurried ahead with Hannah into the church. They entered the front doors, which lead directly to the foyer. People sat at white plastic tables, sipping watery coffee and eating average grocery store pastries. Hannah spotted her middle school friends, Hester and Inias, and went over to them. Cas also made a beeline for his friends, Anna, Alfie, and Balthazar. Charlie had left the church the previous year. 

“We got you the last donut!” Anna exclaimed as he sat beside her. 

“What flavor?” Cas asked. 

“Jelly-filled,” Alfie said, sliding him the sugary treat. 

“You guys are the best,” Cas replied. He sat down beside Anna and chowed down. 

“Cas,” Balthazar said. “Have you been thinking about the fall musical?” 

“I’ve been back and forth on it. I haven’t decided yet,” Cas sighed. 

“You have to decide soon, the audition is in like five days and if you want the part, you’ll have to start practicing,” Anna said, like Cas didn’t already know. 

“I think it would be weird for Dean and me,” Cas said. 

“First of all, you told us that he was leaving by the end of the month, so he won’t be able to see it. Second of all, he doesn’t seem like the type to watch musicals in his free time. Third of all, it’s your senior year you should have the lead role,” Anna said. 

“He would see a musical if he knew I was in it,” Cas said. 

“Would he though? Would he?” Anna asked in a tone that made Cas have second thoughts. 

“I think so,” Cas said unsurely. 

The gigantic organ blared beautiful music, that was the signal to go into the sanctuary. Cas shoved the rest of the donut in his mouth and spilled into the pews with the rest of the congregation. His father walked up to the podium and began with announcements. It didn’t take long for all four of them to get bored by the dry sermon.  Ten minutes in, Balthazar pulled out a piece of paper from the program and flipped it over to the blank side. He drew out the skeleton of a hangman game. 

“Wanna play?” Balthazar whispered so only Cas could hear. Cas glanced warily at his mother three rows ahead, she sat separately from Gabe and Michael. He also checked on his father, but he was on an intense rant with his nose deep in the bible, he paid no attention to Cas. Castiel nodded in agreement and grabbed a pen loose in the pew. He stared at the blank dashes and brainstormed. 

“A,” Cas muttered. 

A_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a _ ?

“E.” 

“Are you seriously going to guess all the vowels first?” 

“It’s a strategy! E!” 

A_ e _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ e _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ e a _ ?

“I.” 

“Cas! Play the game fair!” 

“Ugh, fine. D.” 

Balthazar wrote the letter to the side and drew a head. 

“M.” 

A_ e _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ m e _ _ m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ e a _ ?

“I.” 

A_ e _ _ _ _ _ i _ _ _ _ _ _ m e _ _ _ i _ _ _ _ i _ _ e a _ ?

“Z.” 

Balthazar gave him a disapproving shake of the head before writing it down and giving the head a body. 

“O.” 

A_ e _ _o_ _ o i _ _ _ _ _ _o m e _ _o m i _ _ _ _ i _ _ e a _ ?

“Oh! H!” 

A_ e _ o_ _ o i _ _ _ _ h o m e _o m i _ _ _ _ i _ _ e a _ ?

“I think I know what it is,” Cas whispered. 

“Take a shot.” 

“Are you going to homecoming this year? Is that it?” 

“You’re a genius Castiel!” Balthazar replied. 

“Give me the paper." Cas scribbled down his own hangman game. 

_ _ ! 

“Again?” Balthazar said too loudly. The old, crotchety lady in front of them turned around and shushed them with her wrinkly, arthritis ridden pointer finger. 

“We’ll talk after the service,” Cas told him before turning his attention back to the sermon. It was finally his favorite part: communion. 

Thirty minutes later, church ended. A single drop of grape juice stained Castiel’s shirt, and he hadn’t gotten a single thing from the message. The second they were allowed to talk, Balthazar jumped down his throat about homecoming. 

“You aren’t going again? Cas it’s your senior year, you have to! These are memories you can never get back!” Balthazar exclaimed, surprising Cas with how heated he was about the subject. 

“You know how I feel about school dances. It just isn’t fun for me,” Cas said. 

“You just don’t know how to have any fun,” Balthazar replied as they shuffled out of the pew. 

“Sorry I don’t want to watch all my peers get drunk and grind on each other while I sit in the corner wishing I was somewhere else,” Cas said. 

“What’s all this about?” Alfie asked after overhearing that last sentence. 

“Castiel isn’t going to homecoming again,” Balthazar told him. 

“Why do you care? You always get too wasted to remember it anyway,” Alfie pointed out. 

“I just wish he would get out and have more fun. We’re teenagers! Now is the time to get wild and wet and grind at homecoming!” Balthazar whispered so the ninety-year-olds around him wouldn’t hear. 

“No, no, no. I’m going to take a late-night shift at Zach’s like normal and let you do your own thing. I’ll have fun in my way, you can have fun in your way,” Cas replied. 

Just then, Michael approached them. “Cas, mom says we’re going out for breakfast when dad is ready to go.” 

“How long will that be?” 

“Maybe twenty minutes.” 

“Then why are you telling me now?” 

“I don’t know mom told me to!” 

“OK! No need to get so defensive about it!” 

Michael huffed, but said nothing and stormed over to his college buddies that went to their church. Cas sighed unhappily, it was already tense enough between them that morning, breakfast would be awful. 

“Sounds like fun Cas,” Alfie teased. 

“So much fun,” he replied sarcastically. 

  
  


\---------------------

“What are you getting?” Gabriel asked Cas as they looked over the menu. The restaurant they were at was a homey breakfast place, the air thick with the mouth-watering aroma of bacon and fresh coffee. 

“Pancakes, same thing I always get,” Cas replied. 

“I might get the Nutella french toast,” he said, pointing to a poor picture of chocolate-covered bread. 

“That’s so sugary, how can you stand it?” Cas asked with a scrunched up nose. 

“I guess I’m just a freak of nature,” Gabe said. 

“You’re a freak all right,” Cas muttered under his breath. Hannah, who was sitting to his left, heard him and giggled quietly. 

“You guys are bullies,” Gabe huffed, closing the menu and slamming it down on the table. The vibrations caused a healthy amount of coffee to splash out of Castiel’s cup and onto his white sweater. 

“Come on, Gabe!” Cas exclaimed, staring down at the dark brown stain with anger. 

“Sorry man,” Gabe said, looking at Cas’s sweater with a guilt-ridden face. 

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Cas announced. He had to bite his tongue to not explode with anger. As he walked away, he heard Gabe being chewed out by Naomi and Zachariah. It was satisfying.  He made his way to the bathroom, but as he went to the farthest corner of the restaurant, someone caught his eye. 

“Of course he’s here,” Cas grumbled to himself. Dean sat in the opposite corner of the restaurant with a shaggy-haired boy, chowing down on a piece of sausage. Cas froze in the middle of that side of the room, which often happened whenever he caught sight of Dean in the wild. Dean looked up from his table and saw Cas standing there. Looking into his eyes brought Cas out of his trance, and he continued to the bathroom like nothing had happened.  He wasn’t surprised when Dean followed him to the restroom. 

“You know Dean,” Cas said when the door swung shut. “You have an uncanny knack for popping up where I am. Are you sure you aren’t stalking me?” 

“It’s nice to see you too Cas,” Dean said. “And no, for the second time I’m not fucking stalking you. Something came up, and I had to get Sammy out of the house, so we went for breakfast.” 

“Sammy? Is that the kid you’re with?” Cas asked, getting some paper towels and wetting them in the sink. 

“Yeah, he’s my geek brother,” Dean said. Cas began to scrub his sweater, but that didn’t help, the wet paper just broke apart and stuck to the fabric. 

“Dammit,” Cas grumbled. 

“How’d that stain happen?” Dean asked. 

“ _ My  _ brother spilled coffee on one of my favorite sweaters. He could’ve sat there quietly, but no, Gabe just had to slam the menu. God, this morning has been a nightmare,” Cas sighed as he accepted the sad fate of his sweater. 

“Gabe? Are you talking about Gabe Shurley?” Dean asked. 

“Yeah, few people know we’re brothers. He only goes by Shurley, not Novak,” Cas explained. 

“Why?” 

“Let’s just say he never bonded with my stepfather,” Cas said. 

“Family’s suck, don’t they?” Dean said. 

“You’ve got that right,” Cas agreed. There was a moment where neither of them said anything. They stood there looking at each other, and Cas lost all sense of time. He didn’t even remember his family was waiting for him. 

“How are your hands?” 

“They’re better. It doesn’t hurt to hold a pencil anymore at least,” Cas said, flexing his fingers which were still covered in tiny little cuts. Dean reached down and brushed his thumb near the healing scab on his forehead. It was hidden by black hair, so only Dean knew it was there. “Dean,” Cas said. “You know I’m in drama club, right?” 

“Yeah, what about it?” He asked.

“I was just wondering...oh it’s stupid nevermind,” Cas said. 

“Come on, what’s going on in that nerdy brain of yours?” 

"If I were in the fall musical, would you come watch me?” 

“Of course,” Dean said without hesitation. “But, my dad says we’ll be gone before homecoming. The play starts in November, I could be halfway across the country by then. I’m sorry Cas.” 

“Oh, all right. I’ve just been debating if I should even bother auditioning,” Cas said, trying to pretend like his words didn’t hurt as much as they did. But it failed. Dean could hear the disappointment in his voice. 

“You should totally do it.” Dean told him. 

“You think?” 

“Absolutely! You’re gonna do great, with or without me there. Cas, you can’t stop doing things you love on my account. I’m going to leave, and you’re going to forget me and move on with your life, and that’s good. Do the play, that’s a memory you’ll wanna’ keep.” Dean said, making Cas even sadder. 

“I’ll never forget you Dean. You gave me the best summer of my life.” 

Dean’s face fell. He wasn’t used to being more than a passing memory in people’s lives. 

The door swung open, and Dean’s brother burst in impatiently. Cas stepped away from Dean and pretended like everything was normal in the room. Luckily, Sam didn’t seem to catch on to anything. 

“You’ve been in here so long your coffee is cold, is everything OK?” Sam asked, ignoring that Cas was even there. 

“Thanks for the concern, but I’m fine. This is Cas, he’s a friend from school and we were catching up,” Dean said. 

“Good seeing you Dean, I’m going back to my table,” Cas said, hastily getting away from him. 

“Good luck with that,” Dean said. 

“Thanks, I’ll need it,” Cas replied. Dean let out a single huff of laughter, and Cas left with a smile. He made his way through the busy restaurant and back to the table where food already crowded the table. 

“I ordered you extra bacon as an apology,” Gabe said as Cas sat back down. 

“Castiel, forgive him,” Naomi ordered.

Begrudgingly, Cas said, “I forgive you.” 

Gabe took a huge bite of Nutella french toast, and with the chocolate goo dripping from his mouth answered, “Thanks, bro.” 

“Oh my god you’re disgusting,” Cas muttered. 

“Gabriel, you know the rules, put down your silverware,” Naomi said. Gabe rolled his eyes and his fork clattered against the plate. 

“Fold your hands and bow your head,” Zachariah ordered. The Novak’s did so. “Dear God, please bless our meal so it may nourish our bodies and replenish our souls on this most holy day. Let us say the lords prayer. Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses and those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. In thine is the kingdom, and the power, and glory forever. In your name we pray, amen. Let us eat.” 


	10. Chapter 10

“Dean Winchester!” His locker was slammed in his face, and Benny Lafitte stood on the other side. “You’re daddy is sticking his nose in all the wrong places. Who are you and why are you here?”

“I was hoping we wouldn’t have to have this conversation,” Dean said with a fake smile. Benny wasn’t amused. 

“This ain’t funny, Winchester. I know you’re a hunter.” 

“And I know you’re a vampire. Sorry we’re going to gank your buddies tomorrow night, but they’ve been murdering innocent people for far too long. It has to stop.” 

“They ain’t my buddies, not even close. I hate ‘em as much as you, if not more,” Benny said. 

“Then why are you getting in my face like this? You should be happy we’re getting rid of those pests,” said Dean. 

“How many do you think are in that asylum?” Benny asked. 

“I don’t know, vamps usually live in groups of five or seven,” Dean answered. Benny chuckled at his estimate, making Dean nervous. 

“Try thirteen,” Benny said. Dean’s heart dropped. Thirteen vampires? They’d never faced so many. 

“Do you live with them? Is that how you know all this?” 

“No, I don’t live with them. I survive on my own, and when I arrived two years ago they didn’t like that. They tried to recruit me into their gang, I refused. Trust me, I know about all of their activities in this area, but I can’t stop ‘em alone, and neither can you. If you go into that asylum, there’s no way you’re getting out. You’re going to be vampire food for weeks. You better leave this town before they come after you because believe me, they will.” Benny explained. 

“We aren’t leaving, not before that nest is cleared out. Too many people have died in this town, it has to end. That’s what hunters do, we risk our lives for the good of everyone, we don’t run away from things because they scare us.” Dean told him. 

“But-” 

“No buts. If I die tomorrow, I die tomorrow, I’m fine with that. I’m not fine with sitting by while people die because of something I could have prevented,” Dean declared.

“Fine,” Benny said. “If you’re not gonna’ listen, I might as well give you a better chance of survival. After school, meet me in the parking lot. I’ll show you the secret entrance."

\------------

“You like Blue Oyster Cult?” Dean asked as Benny turned up the music in his car. 

“I’m dead, not deaf,” Benny replied. 

“Fair enough.” Dean said. Dean glanced over at Benny with curiosity. He’d never met a monster so human-like, so willing to help him out. 

“What’s your deal, Benny?” Dean asked. “Why didn’t you join the others? Why do you choose to hang around high schoolers? Why did you want to warn me?” 

“I miss what it’s like to be human. I miss having a heartbeat. I miss breathing.” 

“Cheeseburgers and milkshakes,” Dean interrupted. 

Benny laughed, but shook his head and said, “I was going to say growing up, but that’s a better answer. Anyways, I only drink animal blood. It’s fucking awful, but it's better than the guilt that comes with the alternative. I don’t want to be part of a group that murders, that ain’t me. I hang around high schoolers because look at me, this is how old I’ll always be. I can’t get a normal job or move on with my life because I’ll be a teenager forever. When graduation comes, I move onto another high school and start over as a junior. I warned you because I’m not a heartless bastard, I don’t want your death on my hands.” 

“I’m sorry, that isn’t a fun life,” Dean said out of empathy. 

“It’s no worse than the life of a hunter,” Benny said, leaving Dean speechless. He couldn’t say anything because he knew Benny was right. So they drove in silence for about ten minutes.

It wasn’t long before they approached a body of water, a large pond. It was right on the edge of a thick, luscious forest. Over the treetops, Dean could see the tips of three stone towers, the tallest points of the asylum. Close to the pond, a large house sat looking over the water.

“What’s that?” Dean asked, pointing to the house.

“That house belongs to one of the rich families in town, the Miltons. The mom, I believe, grew up in Florida, so she built the house on the closest thing to a beach up here. Their daughter goes to our school, I think. Every Halloween she throws a party at the house and her parents leave town and turn a blind eye. I went to the party last year, it’s a good time,” Benny explained as they entered the forest. 

The trees engulfed them in darkness, and the shadows of the branches painted their faces like zebra stripes. Dean’s stomach dropped and goosebumps ran up and down his arms. It was silent in the forest. The only sounds were the wheels on concrete and the cry of ravens. 

“This place gives me the creeps,” Dean murmured. 

“Tell me about it,” Benny replied. They drove for another five minutes, as they got deeper in the woods the bad feeling in Dean’s gut worsened. He felt like he was being watched at all times. Eventually, the radio cut off and deafening silence took over. He got nervous, he was alone in the middle of some scary-ass woods with a vampire, something he had been trained to kill since he was thirteen. He began to doubt if Benny had been telling the truth. 

Then, Benny took a turn, and the trees disappeared to reveal a tall hill and an ancient asylum in front of them. The Asylum loomed over the trees like a shadow, casting fear and anxiety unto all who saw it. It radiated evil energy, and just by looking at it Dean knew there was more than vampires lurking within the decrepit building. Ivy crept up the cracked walls, but stopped growing when it was level with the front doors that were about as beckoning as a blanket made of broken glass.

Wooden planks boarded up the windows, barbed wire surrounded the building, meant to deter any hoodlums looking to get inside. Iron chains had been wrapped around the doorknobs. Dean hadn’t brought his bolt cutters, so there was no way they were walking through the front door. 

“Come on. I’ll show you the way in,” Benny said. He climbed out of the car, and Dean followed with his hand glued to the holster of his gun. They trekked around the tall, black, gate that separated them from the barbed wire, and they went where the fence and forest met. Benny paused randomly and turned to Dean. 

“Here,” he said. Dean looked everywhere; he could see a human-sized tear in the barbed wire, but there was no way to get to it. 

“What’s here?” Dean asked. 

“Take a closer look at the fence,” Benny said, gesturing at the carefully spaced iron. Dean stared hard at it; it wasn’t so carefully spaced after all. In one spot, the vertical bars were spaced way too far apart. It was wide enough for a grown man to squeeze through. Past that and the barbed wire, unchained cellar doors sat in the ground just waiting to be opened. 

“This will do nicely,” Dean said as he examined the gap. 

“I thought so. I hope this proves to you that I mean you no harm, and I hope you keep who I am a secret so your daddy doesn’t come swingin’ a machete at me,” Benny said. 

“I promise you, I won’t tell anyone. Now come on, I’ve gotta’ tell my family about this. 

\---------------------------

The next evening at about ten, Dean, John, and Bobby searched for the gap with machetes and flashlights in their hands. Dean looked up at the ominous Asylum with terrified eyes. It was unnerving in the daylight, but at night it was plain scary. 

“Are you sure about this?” John asked as Dean looked carefully for the gap. 

“Yes sir, my source is reliable,” Dean said. “In fact, here it is now.” 

They approached the uneven fence, and Dean didn’t say a word before sliding in between the black bars, machete and all. 

“Come on,” Dean whispered. Bobby went next, and then John. Dean helped open the barbed wire as the other two shimmied through, careful not to snag their clothes on the sharp metal. Dean, with extreme caution, maneuvered his way to the other side and managed to do so without a scratch. The only thing they had to do was get into that cellar. 

They hurried over to the wooden cellar doors, and Bobby knelt down to try and open them. “Dammit! They’re locked!” He said. 

“Stand back,” John said. He handed Dean his stuff shattered the wood with a powerful kick. He kicked again, making the hole big enough for them to get down. Dean shined his flashlight down the hole and caught a glimpse of a rusty ladder against the wall. 

“Kick further towards the wall,” he said, and John did so. With the hole wide enough for them to reach the ladder, John prepared to go down. 

“I’ll shine my flashlight up when I get to the bottom. After that, climb on down,” John instructed. He then slipped down the dark opening and into the Asylum. One minute later, the light blasted Dean in the eyes.

“Shit!” He said, blinking over and over again to regain normal vision.

“Idjit,” Bobby jeered before also going down; Dean followed in suit. As Dean descended, the potent chemical smell got worse and worse. When his feet touched the ground, he was horrified to feel liquid soak his boots. 

“What is that?” Dean gagged, pinching his nose. 

“Spilled Formaldehyde. I think we’re in a morgue,” John said, scanning the room with his flashlight. 

“Well the vamps aren’t here, so can we move on please,” Dean said in a nasally voice.

“Sure, here’s the way out,” Bobby said, pointing his light at an archway that led to a pitch-black hallway. Dean gripped his machete tight and was careful not to bump into anything, a single noise might alert any creature in the building.

The three of them shuffled down the hallway cautiously, looking everywhere for signs of the vampires. Dean made the mistake of opening a metal door that read “STAY OUT”, only to be greeted by a horrific smell, four skeletons on lobotomy tables, and a cold rush of air. 

“Well that’s morbid,” Dean said. His father hushed him and moved on. The hallway was long with many intersections, but they kept going straight and eventually found a staircase that led to an upper floor. They ascended slowly and without a sound. At the top of the second set of steps, the silhouette of a stranger stood guarding the stairs. 

John motioned for Bobby and Dean to halt before sneaking up behind it. In one swift movement, the vampire was dead, and blood trickled down the stairs like a waterfall. 

“Keep an eye out,” Bobby said, “There’s more where that came from.” 

They crept past the headless body and into the lobby. It was a huge room, marvelous and eerie at the same time. The floor was made from marble but hadn’t been swept in decades, so there was a fine layer of dust over most of the white floor. Dean looked up, and a chandelier hung five stories above them. There was a circular desk in the middle of the room, some ratty couches up against the wall, and multiple corridors that led further into the Asylum. 

“Where do we start? This place is so big,” Dean wondered. 

“How about there,” Bobby said, pointing to a trail of dried blood. 

“You think it could be Justina’s?” John asked. Justina was the girl who had lured them to Sioux Falls in the first place. 

“I hope not. Let’s find out,” Bobby said. They followed the blood trail down the hall, the splotches got bigger and wetter as they went. They arrived at a doorway where the blood ended. 

Dean and Bobby stood on either side of the door. After counting to three, John pushed the door open gently. Inside, the only lights were a dim lamp and a small TV against the far wall. There were couches, recliners, a pool table, foosball, and a card table. Eleven people hung around the rec room laughing with each other. Dean peered around the corner and easily recognized the back of Gordon’s head. After what he had done to Cas, Dean was more than ready to leap out and beat the shit out of him, but he held back: for the moment. 

“Do you smell that boys?” 

Dean recognized the voice as Dixon’s. “We got some fresh blood. I know you’re there, Winchester, why don’t you come in? We’d love to have you for dinner.” With their cover blown, they had no choice but to walk inside. 

“Wow,” Dean said as he stepped into the rec room, “What a clever line. I’ve never heard  _ that  _ from a monster before.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. Dixon snarled at him, and every bloodsucker in the room circled the three men like wolves stalking their prey. 

“Watch your tongue, I have the power here,” Dixon snapped. Bobby grabbed Dean’s arm, warning him not to say anything back. Dixon smirked at them and decided to test his luck. “Do you know what I’m gonna’ do when I kill you Dean?” Dean shook his head no. “I’m going to hunt down that friend of yours from the parking lot, and Gordon here is going to get his revenge. We’re going to rip his throat out, and you’re not going to be there to stop it.” 

Dean overpowered Bobby, lunged forward, and sent Dixon’s head tumbling to the ground. Neither John nor Bobby got to tell Dean how stupid he was before the other ten vampires attacked. Without a real plan, the fight was messy and painful. Blood splattered the walls with each scratch, each beheading, and each bone-cracking punch. 

John was thrown against the wall with immense force, cracking the old drywall with ease. “Dad!” Dean said, trying to rush over, but it was no use. Someone grabbed his arm, and he turned to see a woman with dark hair and silver eyes going for his neck with protruded fangs. 

“Shit!” He exclaimed after she kicked his machete out of his hand. 

“Dean, duck!” Bobby cried. Dean lowered his head and a shower of hot blood rained all over him. The blade of the machete barely scraped his hair. Dean didn’t have time to recover before another one lurched at him, that time he himself lopped off its head. John stumbled to his feet and rejoined the fight. 

Three vampires crowded around him, backing him up against the wall. John gripped his machete in both hands, and in one swift movement beheaded the one to his right and broke free.  Dean took care of the second one fighting his father, but the third grabbed John by the neck and shoved him up against the pool table. Its mistake was letting his hands be free. John turned his machete horizontal, reached around to the backside of its neck, and slowly cut through its spinal cord and towards himself. The vampire collapsed to the ground, finally giving John a chance to breathe. 

At last, only Gordon was left out of the eleven in the room. Dean stormed over to him, shoved him down on the couch, and held his weapon to his throat. 

“There’s another one of you, where is he?” Dean asked, pressing the bloodsoaked metal right where the jugular would be. 

“Bite me,” Gordon hissed. 

“Tell me and I’ll let you live,” Dean said. 

“What? Dean no!” John exclaimed, but Dean ignored him. Gordon looked up at him with untrusting eyes. 

“You promise?” 

“I promise.” 

“Luther is up in one of the towers,” Gordon told him. 

“Which tower?” Bobby asked. 

“I’m not telling,” Gordon replied. Dean pressed down with the machete, not hard enough to kill him, but hard enough to pierce his skin. “Fine! Fine! He’s in Tower 3, now will you let me go?” Dean didn’t consider it for a second. After this, he would certainly go for Cas, and Dean couldn’t let that happen. 

“Nah,” Dean said. 

“You dou-” 

Dean cut him off, literally. Dean got up off the couch to face his father about what he’d done to Dixon. 

“Dean, I have never seen you do something so blatantly stupid in my life! You attacked that first vampire with no plan, no backup, no anything! Do you know how easily you could have died?!” John exclaimed, pointing a bloody finger at his son. 

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I had a personal vendetta and I got emotional, but it’s over now and we’re all alive, so can we move on?” Dean said. 

“Fine. But you will never do anything like that again, do you hear me?” 

“Yes sir.” 

“Good. Now let’s go, hopefully we can find Justina before it’s too late,” John said. So they left the room, forgetting about the carnage they’d left behind, and navigated their way back to the lobby. From there, they found a sign above a doorway that read “Stairs to Tower 3” and went that way. They climbed up eight stories of stairs, as the elevator was undoubtedly out of service, and got to the top in about two minutes. They opened the door to the top floor, and inside was a lavish office with a bed, a bathroom, and everything. 

“This must’ve belonged to the man who ran the building,” Bobby commented as they walked inside. 

“It still does.” On the opposite side of the room, there was a large window that looked out on the forest and pond. A man leaned against the glass, staring out at the scenery made dark by the night. 

“Where’s Justina?” John asked. 

“That insufferable bitch? She was no longer of use to us. She ran out of the good stuff, so I killed her and tossed her body in the cavern. Your search has been in vain,” Luther said. 

“Cavern?” John inquired. 

“There are caverns under this Asylum. There’s more to this place than you think, John Winchester,” Luther said, turning to face them. 

“You know what, I don’t care,” John said. “The only thing I care about is killing you.” He ran at Luther, and the fight commenced. He was far stronger and quicker than the other vampires. He was able to fend off John, Dean, and Bobby all at once. He scratched Dean across the cheek, kicked Bobby in the gut, and sent John to the ground all in three seconds. 

“Do you really think you can kill me? You’re human, you’re weak, there’s just no use trying,” Luther patronized, placing his filthy boot on John’s neck and pushing down. He kicked his machete away and watched with pleasure as John choked from the lack of air. 

Bobby went after him, but it wasn’t enough. Luther grabbed him by the throat and with his free leg kneed him square in the balls. Bobby gasped in horrible pain. Luther dropped him and Bobby keeled over in agony. Dean was the only man standing, and he froze with terror. He was still so young and inexperienced compared with Bobby and his father. He had no margin for error, if he died his dad and Bobby would too. He swallowed his fear and lept into action. 

Dean slid on his knees toward Luther and sliced the back of his knee with the machete. Luther howled with pain and collapsed to the floor. Dean took no time climbing on top of him and pinning his arms to the ground with his damp shoes. He didn’t hesitate, he killed that son of a bitch without a second thought. 

They rested for maybe ten seconds before John said, “Let’s get out of here.” 

“What about Justina’s body?” Bobby asked. 

“Do you really want to waste more time in this awful place?” John questioned. 

“To help a family know what happened to their daughter, of course! You can leave if you want. Dean, how about you? Coming with me or your dad?” 

\-----------

“This place keeps on getting worse and worse,” Dean mumbled as he walked back to the cellar with Bobby. The wallpaper was peeling, rats and cockroaches scurried around everywhere, old hospital beds were scattered throughout the halls, and there was a different eye-watering stench every five steps. Dean wanted to leave so bad, but recovering Justina’s body was more important than what he wanted.

“Are you sure they’re down here?” Dean questioned. 

“They’re caverns, where do you think they’ll be; in the sky?” 

“Alright, you made your point. I just-I don’t know if we can trust that guy. He was a vampire for christ's sake. Do you really think these caverns are even real?” 

“I don’t know. I just hope they are, for Justina's family's sake. Here, let’s go this way,” Bobby said, choosing a random intersection and turning right. 

“This place is like a maze. How did they not get lost way back in the day?” Dean wondered aloud. 

“Beats me. Hey, what’s that?” Bobby pointed his flashlight at a door that stood out from the rest. It was made from pure solid iron, unlike the other doors which could be kicked down with a single blow.

“Well I’ll be damned Bobby, you chose the right way.” 

“Sheer luck. Come on, let’s see what’s in there.” 

They opened the door, and a concrete ramp led down into the blackness. For many minutes, they walked further and further into the earth. The earthy and musty smell of caves grew stronger with each passing minute, and Dean knew they were in the right place. Eventually, the ramp was no more. The walls turned from concrete to rock, and the ground turned into a pool of water. However, that was where it all ended. There was a wall of stone blocking anything from going any further into the cavern. 

“Goddamnit,” Bobby said. Piles of bodies lay in the water, which was dyed red and black with blood and rotting tissue. They were all in different states of decay. Some were skeletons, some still had fragments of decomposing skin and hair, and some only seemed to be a few weeks old. The aroma was revolting. 

“Dean, you see that body?” Bobby asked, pointing to the fresh corpse of a woman. She was petite, had blond hair, and a silver ring on her finger. 

“Yeah,” Dean sighed. 

“Flip her over, would ya’?” 

Dean grimaced, but did so anyway, it was his job. He turned the woman over, and sure enough, came face to face with Justina. 

“Is it her?” Bobby asked. 

“Yeah,” Dean said. “Come on, let’s get her out of here.” He wiped off a trickle of blood from his face wound into the water, and grabbed Justina’s cold, stiff wrists. 

“Are you going to stand there and watch, or are you gonna’ help and grab her feet?” Dean asked as he dragged her out of the water. Bobby rolled his eyes, but went over and grabbed her ankles. Dean and Bobby carried her all the way up the ramp and into the cellar, where they made their way to the morgue. By some miracle, they hoisted her up the ladder one rung at a time and out into the open air. 

“How do we alert the authorities?” Dean asked.

“I say we put her by the gate and leave an anonymous tip. I don’t need to be hangin’ around the fuzz anytime soon,” Bobby said as they wiggled through the barbed wire. 

“Then…” 

“You guys leave town and move on. We’re done and through with this Asylum.” Bobby said. Dean’s heart sank. For the first time in many years, he wanted to stay just a little longer, but he knew that wasn’t an option. Moving on was the best thing to do for the other people who needed saving.

“Good,” Dean lied. “That Asylum is horrific, I need to get away from it.” 

“I agree. There’s a reason I haven’t gone out here in twenty years. Ah, there’s John,” Bobby said, pointing to the Impala in the distance. “You drop her off in the road then get in the car. Do it quick too, I need to take a shower.”

So Dean set her down in front of the Impala, hopped in the back seat, and stared out the window as John floored it out of there. 

“I guess it’s over,” Dean sighed as they sped down the road. 


	11. Chapter 11

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!” Charlie exclaimed, grasping Castiel’s elbow as they hurried down the hallway. 

“Charlie, calm down you’re going to be fine.” Cas laughed, looking down at her bright eyed face with a grin. 

“Don’t act like your not nervous Cas, you’re shaking like crazy,” Charlie replied, feeling his quivering elbow.

“Maybe I’m a little excited,” Cas said. That was an understatement. His stomach was doing somersaults and his hands were super sweaty, he had been like that ever since the audition.

“You should be! You auditioned for the lead role. If you weren’t a jumpy I would assume you were a sociopath or something,” Charlie said. 

“Who’s a sociopath?” Anna jumped into their conversation, coming from behind and taking Castiel’s other arm. 

“I am, apparently,” Cas said. 

“I’m not surprised,” Anna teased, “You’ve always been a bit robotic.”

“Shut up,” Cas chuckled lightly, giving her a gentle shove. 

“Guys shhh!!! I think it’s already up!” Charlie exclaimed. Over by Ms. Hanscum’s classroom door, a crowd of kids fought with each other to look at a single piece of paper taped to the wall. Some were crying, some were hugging their friends with joy, but when they saw Cas coming, they looked at him with big smiles. The crowd cleared a path for them as they approached, which had never happened before in Cas’s time in drama club. 

“I have a good feeling about this,” Anna whispered to Cas as they got up close and personal to the casting list. When they read where his name was on the list, Charlie threw herself at him, wrapping him in a tight bear hug. The anxiety melted away into pure joy and pride as he beamed widely and hugged her back. 

“Congratulations.” The only other guy who had tried out for Danny said, giving him a friendly handshake. 

“Thank you,” Cas said, feeling pity for him. At least the guy had gotten a supporting role. 

“I can’t believe it Cas, we got the lead roles, after four years we did it,” Anna said, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. Just then, Balthazar and Alfie caught up to them to see the list. 

“Cas, did you get it?” Alfie asked before looking for himself. 

“I did!” Cas said. 

“Hey, I got the other lead!” Anna pointed out. 

“I was getting to it, calm down,” Alfie said as he stepped around them to see the paper. 

“Charlie you’re Rizzo? That’s badass!” Balthazar exclaimed after getting halfway down the list. 

“I know right, how about you? I stopped reading when I saw my name,” Charlie asked. 

“I am Kenickie. That’s the bad guy, right?” 

Charlie nodded yes, and waited for Alfie to announce his part. “Roger,” he said, “What the hell does Roger do?” 

“He’s one of Danny’s best friends. In the play he has his own song and everything, don’t worry, it’s a pretty good part,” Anna said. 

“Says you, you’re playing Sandy,” Alfie huffed. “But I’m still happy with what I got. At least I’m not Eugene or some shit.” 

“Way to look on the bright side mate.” Balthazar said, backing away from the list to let others read it. 

“Thanks,” Alfie said sarcastically. 

“Hey, enough with the complaining, we should go celebrate somehow,” Charlie said as they walked away from the list. They all had pleased grins on their faces, even Alfie. 

“My dad is out of town and my mom is with her friends until ten. You should all come to my house,” Cas offered. 

“Yes! Totally! Cas, you and I should go and get snacks. You guys go home and pick some entertainment for the evening,” Anna said, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him away from Charlie. 

“Sounds good. We’ll meet there in forty minutes, how about that?” Cas said. 

“Sure. See you guys later,” Balthazar said, and they split up to go their own ways. 

  
  


\--------------- 

Cas and Anna strolled down the rows of the supermarket looking for good food to bring back to the house. They had decided to get a frozen pizza and tater tots, but Anna wanted Ruffles and French Dip, and Cas wanted tortilla chips and guac. 

“Did your mother drop you as a child? Guacamole does  _ not  _ go with pizza. I thought you knew better than this,” Anna said as they stared at the fifty different bags of chips in front of them. 

“I want guacamole, I don’t care if it goes with pizza or not. At least I’m not going for potato chips when we literally have tater tots right there,” Cas said. 

“Oh my- ugghhh!” Anna groaned, rubbing her face with her palm. “You know what, let’s just get both! You know, this is how people lose control of their life,” she said as she pulled the two bags off the shelf. 

“By buying different chips?” Cas questioned as they moved along to the freezer section. 

“Yes. Hey, grab some pizza, I’ll go see if I can find sparkling grape juice,” Anna said. She ran off with the cart before Cas could say anything. He rolled his eyes and went over to the frozen pizzas. He chose the cheapest pepperoni he could find and then wandered off to find Anna. She was a few aisles over looking at all of the sparkling juices. 

“Got the pizza,” he said, tossing it in the cart. 

“Great. I got the sparkling grape juice. Is that all?” She said as she set the glass bottle in the cart. 

“I think so. I have cookies at home so we don’t have to buy dessert. Let’s go, we need to get there before the rest do,” Cas said. So they went and paid, bagged the groceries, put them in Castiel’s Lincoln, and drove off in the direction of Cas’s house. 

“So,” Anna said as they sped through the busy part of town. “How do you feel about this whole play thing. I know you were hesitant to audition for a while, and I understand why this might be weird for you. Are you really comfortable with the part?” 

Castiel nodded. “Yeah, I think I am. It’s good for me to do this, it’s cathartic. I have to accept the fact that he’s leaving, that everything is going to end, and pouring my heart into this musical will distract from that. Besides, I have a really good Sandy backing me up.” He said nudging her arm. 

“Thanks Cas. I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to get it. I don’t have blonde hair or anything,” Anna said. 

“Of course they picked you. I’ve heard your Austrailian accent, it isn’t bad. I also don’t think hair color matters, if Hanscum cares that much she’ll give you a wig,” Cas said. 

“I guess you're right,” Anna said, and the conversation fizzled away, but comfortably. They left the populous part of the city and got into the rural part of Sioux Falls. The part where the land stretched as far as the eye could see and wheat was more common than people. 

Cas lived right on the edge of town. He lived in a huge farmhouse, but his family didn’t do any actual farming. The plot of land was a field of grass, the only thing back there was an abandoned barn from when Naomi’s parents owned the place. It was a cute house, with old trees in the front yard and a white, wooden swing on the cozy porch. 

Anna got the groceries, went up to the big, sunshine yellow house, and waited patiently as Cas fumbled with the keys. He pushed the door open and revealed the inside of the house, which was much different than the old fashioned outside. It was completely modern, with hardwood floors in the entry hall, soft white carpet in the living room, light grey walls, and bible verses framed in gold all over the walls. It was very spacious and open. 

“I’ll put the pizza in, you set up the chips and stuff,” Cas said as they made their way into the empty house. His siblings were gone, so it was just them that night. 

“On it,” Anna replied. Ten minutes later, Charlie, Alfie, and Balthazar arrived carrying all sorts of board games and junk they could use to have fun that evening. 

“What’d you bring?” Cas asked them.

“Monopoly, Sorry, a card deck, Twister, Uno, and a ton of other good stuff,” Alfie said, dropping the boxes to the floor. 

“Ooh! Before anything happens, let me bring out the surprise,” Anna said. She disappeared into the kitchen and came out shortly with five wine glasses and a bottle of sparkling grape juice. 

“I didn’t know this was a fancy occasion,” Balthazar said as Anna popped the cork of the bottle. 

“It is now. Everyone take a glass, I’ll go around and pour,” Anna said. When all the cups were full, they sat down on the ground in a circle, careful not to spill the juice as they got down on the nice white carpet. 

Charlie raised her glass and said, “My friends, let us have a toast. To Cas, who quit being a pansy and auditioned for the play, to Anna who gets to be Austrailian for a month, to Balthazar as he becomes a leather wearing asshole, to Alfie who’s playing some dude named Roger, and to me for getting the coolest role in the play.” 

“Cheers!” They all said in unison, clinking their glasses and taking the first sips of the sweet, fizzy liquid. 

“Now,” Balthazar said pulling out the Sorry board, “Time to hate each other.” 

\-------------

“Oh fuck you!” Alfie exclaimed after Balthazar dealt him a draw 4 card. 

“In your dreams,” Balthazar laughed as Alfie took each card one by one. 

“I’d rather do it with Hulk Hogan,” Alfie snapped angrily. Cas had to use all his self-control not to start laughing with a mouth full of pizza. 

“Who wouldn’t,” Charlie said, placing down a red card. 

“You guys are mean,” Balthazar grumbled through his mouth full of chips and guac. 

“Can you please speak _ after _ you chew,” Anna said, her face contorted with disgust. Like a child, Balthazar stuck out his tongue covered in mushed up food at her. Anna scowled at him and turned away. Cas was the next to go. He had peeked at Balthazar’s cards and knew that he didn’t have a blue. 

“Balthazar, draw 4. Also, blue,” Cas said. 

“You twat!” Balthazar exclaimed. In his brief moment of anger, he took some guacamole with his finger and playfully smeared some across Castiel’s face. 

“You’re a dick!” Castiel declared, but he couldn’t help but be a tiny bit amused. “Pause the game, I’m getting a napkin.” He said. He got to his feet and went to the kitchen, but right when he was about to wipe his face the doorbell rang. 

“I’ll get it!” He shouted, getting the guac off of his face and rushing to the front door. He pulled it open and the dim light from the sunset spilled into the dark entryway. 

“Dean?” He said with a mix of confusion and happiness. 

“Hey Cas,” Dean said, looking at him with melancholy eyes. 

“What are you doing here? How do you even know where I live?” Cas asked, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. 

“I got it out of Gabe. I came to say goodbye,” He said. Any shred of glee Cas had felt that day vanished in a single instant. 

“What?” He said, his voice sullen as Dean’s words sunk in. 

Dean glanced over at the porch swing and said, “Why don’t we sit for a minute.” 

“Yeah, OK,” Cas said. He shut the door behind him and sat next to Dean on the swing, their backs facing the gorgeous sunset in the sky. Dean looked at Cas for a moment, then focused in on his nose. 

“Hey, you’ve got a’ little something on the tip of your nose,” He said. 

Cas blushed and wiped the leftover dip off with his thumb. “Wait,” Dean said, “Was that guacamole?”

Cas let out a soft laugh. “Yeah,” he said. 

“Why? Did a mariachi band explode in there?” 

“No, we were celebrating and Balthazar smeared it on my face,” Cas told him. 

“Celebrating? What’s the occasion?” 

“Remember that play I was telling you about?”

Dean’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Did you audition? Did you get the role?” 

“I got the role,” Cas told him, his heart melted at Dean’s proud smile. 

“I can’t believe it! That’s fantastic Cas!” He exclaimed, his eyes were bright as he watched Cas’s shy grin. “You’re gonna’ rock it.” 

“I wish you could stay and see,” Cas said. Dean looked away from Cas and the smile melted away. 

“Me too.” 

“Why are you leaving? You at least owe me that explanation.” Cas said. 

“The job my dad came here for is finished. We have to go, I have no other choice. He already withdrew me from this school,” Dean explained. 

“How soon are you leaving,” Cas asked. 

“In one hour. I just couldn’t leave without seeing you one last time,” Dean in a bittersweet voice. 

“I don’t believe that,” Cas said. 

“Don’t believe what?” 

“I don’t believe this is the last time I’ll ever see you. I can’t believe it,” Cas said, giving Dean one of those intense stares that sent a chill down his spine. 

“You have to. I’m going to be gone and I won’t be back for years. By the time I do come back to Sioux Falls, you’ll be long gone and living a happy life. I can’t tell you why I’m leaving, but I’m telling you it’s for the best and after I leave, summer will be over for real this time,” Dean said. 

Cas bit his lip and looked away from him, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. Dean was leaving, and he couldn’t do anything about it. 

“I’m going to miss you,” Cas said shakily. 

Dean brushed a loose piece of black hair behind his ear and said, “I’m going to miss you too.” 

“But you know what,” Cas said, facing Dean with wide, sad eyes. “Even if I miss you, I’m glad we had what we did. Not a lot of people get the chance to have this kind of connection, but I’ll get to live knowing I’m one of the lucky ones.” 

Dean didn’t respond right away. He was more crestfallen then Cas as those words weighed down on his heart. 

“Before I go, I want one last thing.” Dean whispered, placing his hand on Castiel’s thigh. 

“What’s that?” Cas replied. He felt Dean’s warm breath on his face, and he smelled the familiar scent of his subtle cologne. The sunset highlighted his faint freckles, the ones Cas could spend all day counting. He wanted to stay there and be with Dean forever, to learn every curve of his face by heart, but that wasn’t possible. 

Dean didn’t say a word, but Cas knew what he wanted. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Cas’s lips. It wasn’t as ferverous as the one they’d first shared on the dock while watching fireworks, or as hopelessly desperate as the last one they’d shared on their last day in California together; it was sweet, and calm, and soft, and everything Dean pretended not to be. A million emotions jumbled around in Castiel’s gut, and he couldn’t help but cry salty, heartfelt tears. The tears wet Dean's scratched cheek, and he forced himself to pull back and rest his forehead on Cas’s. 

“Please don’t cry,” he begged, trying to dry Castiel’s face with his thumb. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I just...you wanted to stay friends so it wouldn’t hurt as much, but it does Dean. It hurts like hell.” 

“I know, I feel the same way,” Dean said. Cas pulled himself together enough to stop crying, but that painful ball was still stuck in his throat. 

“I can’t keep you any longer,” Cas choked. “I bet your family is waiting for you.” 

“And I bet your friends are missing you in there,” Dean said. He reluctantly let go of Cas and took his time getting to his feet. 

“See you later, Dean,” Cas said. 

“Goodbye Cas.” 

He placed one last kiss on Castiel’s forehead, then turned and walked to his Impala, the remaining sliver of sun illuminating his almond blonde hair. The second he was in the car, the door to the house opened. Charlie and Alfie stepped outside with concerned frowns. 

“What happened? Were you crying?” Alfie asked, observing his red eyes. 

“He’s gone for real this time,” Cas mumbled as Dean sped off down the road. 

“Oh Cas, why don’t you come inside, have some grape juice, and tell us what happened,” Charlie said, patting his shoulder and pulling him up. They went back inside, the sunset disappeared, and darkness blanketed the house. 


	12. Chapter 12

Next Wednesday

Dean and John stumbled back into the motel room beaten, bloody, and bruised. They’d just taken care of a real nasty spirit and they had the injuries to prove it. Sam jumped up off the bed, excited to see his family for the first time in hours. 

“Hey Sammy,” Dean said as he collapsed onto the shitty motel sofa. He had no major cuts, but he was still sore all over. John, on the other hand, had a huge slash in his arm. 

“Sam, get the suturing kit for Dean,” John ordered. 

“Yes sir,” the kid said. He rushed outside to the Impala and came back seconds later with the same box Dean had used to heal Castiel's hand. He grabbed the box from Sam, and fished out the hook and string. 

“Did you kill it?” Sam asked as Dean prepared himself. 

“Yeah, thing put up one hell of a fight though,” Dean said as he carefully pierced his father's skin. John winced and gripped the arm of the sofa, but masked his pain for the sake of Sam. 

“Never mess with a man holding a pitchfork, I learned that the hard way,” John said as Dean twisted the stitches like an expert. 

“Thanks, but I think I knew that already,” Sam said, losing his interest in the situation and heading back over to his bed. They hadn’t started at a new school yet, so he had nothing to do but draw crappy pictures in a notebook. He continued to sketch, and Dean continued to suture. 

About twenty minutes later, Dean finished, and he washed up whatever grime and blood had gotten on his hands that day. He grabbed his towel and took a nice hot shower before coming out and collapsing onto the bed next to Sam. They often shared a bed when John was too injured or achey to sleep on the couch. He shoved Sam to his side of the bed and laid facing away from his brother.

“Dean,” Sam said after John went to take his turn in the bathroom, “I miss Sioux Falls.” 

Dean sighed heavily, he was tired, upset, and he wanted to go to sleep. The last thing he wanted was to share his feelings with Sam. 

“Why?” He asked. 

“I miss Jess,” Sam said. His speech was broken, he was clearly trying not to cry. Dean’s eyes fell shut, not with weariness, but with heart-wrenching sadness. If only Sam knew how much he empathized. 

“I’m sure she misses you too,” Dean said, hiding any sign of feeling in his voice. 

“I just wish we didn’t move around so much. I wish I could have relationships and keep them,” Sam lamented. 

“Me too, but you have to realize we can’t have that. The closer we get to people, the more likely they are to get hurt. Besides, we have to move around and help people, people who are strangers. Now go to bed, we’re driving all the way to Kentucky tomorrow,” Dean said. 

“But we’re in Montana, that’ll be so far,” Sam whined as he settled into a sleeping position. He was met with silence. Dean pretended to be asleep, he was done with talking for the day. 

“Goodnight Dean,” Sam whispered before finally turning off the light. 

\-------------

Dean woke up the next morning drenched in sweat. His heart was beating out of his chest as he frantically looked around trying to regain awareness of where he was. He’d been having horrible nightmares all week, and they mostly revolved around his dad, Sam, Cas, and death. They would start out peaceful, he would see flashes of sand, bright smiles, cheerful eyes, and the faces of everyone he cared about. Then horror would seep in like an infection and show him bloody images he would never get out of his memory. 

He jolted up and disturbed Sam's rest as well. 

“Dean!” He complained, rolling over and glaring at his brother. 

“Sorry, Sam. Go back to bed.” He said. 

Dean rolled out of bed and went over to the tiny, cracked, smudged mirror the motel provided them. He washed his sweaty face with cool water, and tried to ground himself in reality rather than the snapshots of dreams his brain forced him to remember. 

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. Ever since leaving Sioux Falls, this strange, empty feeling consumed Dean. Time went by differently, food didn’t taste the same, and he found no joy teasing Sam during long car rides. He was in a terrible trance and the only way for him to break out of it was one thousand miles away. 

“You alright Dean?” John asked. Dean was supposed to be packing his things, instead, he stood there with glazed eyes and underwear in his hands, lost in bittersweet daydreams. 

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just out of it today,” Dean said, continuing to stuff his clothes into a duffle bag. 

“You’re out of it every day,” Sam commented. 

“That’s because I’ve been stuck with a dorky freshman 24/7,” Dean replied. Sam stuck his tongue out at him, and Dean threw a dirty sock at him in retaliation. 

“Boys, get it together, I want to reach Kentucky by Saturday. Quit messing around and keep packing,” John said. Unhappily, Sam tossed Dean his sock and it got quiet again. Thirty minutes later, all the bags were zipped up and the room was as clean as possible for the maid. When John thought everything was in order, they were gone and on their way across the country. 

\---------------------

Warm. It warm as Dean walked down the empty stretch of sand to the shoreline. Dry sand filled his sandals and seagulls flew freely in the clear blue sky above him. As he got closer to the water, the roaring waves pounded the shore relentlessly and drowned out every other sound on the beach. That didn’t matter though, all Dean focused on was Cas standing on the shore soaking his feet in the water.

He wore a loose, white shirt that fluttered in the wind, and khaki shorts the color of caramel. His black hair was blown to the side by the strong gale of the coast and his hands were shoved deep into his pockets. He looked so peaceful as he glowed like an angel in the California sun. 

Dean came from behind, wrapped his arms around his waist, and rested his head on his shoulder. Cas leaned into the hug, nuzzling his head against Dean’s cheek and resting his hands on his arms. They stood there for an eternity before Cas turned his head and pressed his lips to Dean’s. Cas turned and wrapped his arms around Dean’s neck as the kisses grew hot, passionate, and deep. Dean gripped his waist tight, hoping that would be enough for Cas to never leave his grasp. 

The unwelcome sound of guitar brought everything to an abrupt halt. Dean’s eyes flew open, and he found himself looking out at the flat, boring, beachless landscape of Wyoming. His father was blasting rock on the stereo, the source of the interruption. Dean kept his face pressed against the window, trying to hide the emotional turmoil that dream had brought him. He couldn’t help it as his eyes grew visibly watery. 

It was ridiculous, Dean had never been so hung up on anyone before, why Castiel clung to his heart and wouldn’t let go was a mystery. He thought that after leaving, his feelings would have been put to rest, but clearly not. Being away made it even worse. He wondered if time would heal his wounds, but a small voice in the back of his mind told him it wouldn’t. He would always miss his blue eyed angel.

“Dean, why do you look like you’re about to cry?” Sam asked after seeing his brothers reflection in the side mirror. 

“What? No, don’t be ridiculous. I’m not a girl like you.” Dean replied. 

“You’re awake? I didn’t realize.” John said. “We’ll be passing through Cheyenne in about twenty minutes, if you’re wondering where we are.” 

“Cool,” Dean mumbled unenthusiastically. John huffed in disbelief. 

“That’s all? You love Cheyenne and all that cowboy stuff. Are you sure you’re OK? You’ve been acting off for the past week,” John said, glancing at Dean with concern. 

“I’m peachy,” Dean said with no further elaboration. 

“Dean-” 

“I said I’m fine.” 

John didn’t say anything, he just accepted Dean’s reluctance and moved on like always. They drove for another twenty minutes with nothing to look at but cows, horses, and sparse herds of pronghorns. 

They neared the town, and as the first signs of real civilization in miles popped up, their cell phone rang. When the first cell phone had been sold in March, John had recognized the potential. So he sold every little rare, supernatural trinket they could afford to lose to rich hippies and fake psychics until they raised about four thousand dollars. They finally bought a cell phone in July, and Dean was still waiting for their sacrifices to pay off. 

John picked up the phone, extended the antennae, and held the brick with buttons up to his ear. 

“Hello?” John asked. Dean could barely hear the voice on the other end, but it took no time for him to recognize Bobby’s distinct drawl. 

“What? Why?....Are you sure?....If you’re certain....OK Bobby. See ya.” John hung up the phone with a frustrated expression. 

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked. 

“I just got a call from Bobby. Sounds like things didn’t wrap up as nice and clean as we thought it did,” John said. 

Dean sat up straight with anticipation. “And…” 

“We’re going back to South Dakota. Indefinitely.” John announced. Dean didn’t know if exploding with joy was possible, but if it was he was close. Dean bit his bottom lip trying to hide a smile, but a gleeful smirk managed to sneak onto his face. 

“What did he say was the problem?” Dean asked, trying to sound as normal as possible. 

“He wouldn’t tell me over the phone, but he said it was urgent. By the way he sounded, I believe him,” John said. 

“How long until we get there?” Dean asked, hoping to get there by homecoming the next night. 

“About nine hours,” John said. 

“Then we better hit the gas.” 

\------------

“Repeat that please.” John said, staring at Bobby with utter disbelief. 

“I saw the body myself. A twenty five year old, fit as a fiddle. He died of Smallpox. Let me repeat myself: Smallpox,” Bobby said, adjusting his hat as he paced around the living room anxiously. 

“What’s the big deal about Smallpox?” Sam asked. 

“It was completely eradicated in 1980, not just in the US, but in the world. It’s impossible to catch, let alone die from.” Bobby elaborated. 

“I know what you’re thinking Bobby. It’s crazy,” John said. 

“Is it?” 

“Well, whatever it is, it’s interesting to me. We’ll stay and help you get to the bottom of this, I promise.” he said, shaking his hand with the most comforting smile John Winchester could force onto his face. 

“Yes!” Sammy exclaimed. “I’ll go unpack my things and call Jess! We can actually go to homecoming!” He ran up the stairs, dragging his duffle on the old, rickety steps behind him. 

“At least someone’s happy,” Bobby grumbled, and the group dispersed. 

\--------------

Warm. It warm as Dean walked down the empty stretch of sand to the shoreline. Dry sand filled his sandals and seagulls flew freely in the clear blue sky above him. As he got closer to the water, the roaring waves pounded the shore relentlessly and drowned out every other sound on the beach. That didn’t matter though, all Dean focused on was Cas standing on the shore soaking his feet in the water.

He wore a loose, white shirt that fluttered in the wind and khaki shorts the color of caramel. His black hair was blown to the side by the strong gale of the coast and his hands were shoved deep into his pockets. He looked so peaceful as he glowed like an angel in the California sun. 

Dean came from behind, wrapped his arms around his waist, and rested his head on his shoulder. Cas leaned into the hug, nuzzling his head against Dean’s cheek and resting his hands on his arms. They stood there for an eternity before Cas turned his head and pressed his lips to Dean’s. Cas turned and wrapped his arms around Dean’s neck as the kisses grew hot, passionate, and deep. Dean gripped his waist tightly, hoping that would be enough for Cas to never leave his grasp. 

Then, an unfortunately familiar scent filled the air; a scent that made Dean nauseous and on edge. It was the scent of rotten eggs. He opened his eyes and pulled away when a sticky, warm liquid soaked through his polyester shirt and stained the tan skin of his stomach. He looked down to see that it wasn’t his blood, but Castiel’s. 

Across his belly was a deep, horizontal cut that soaked his shirt and dripped into the water and sand surrounding his feet. Frozen with horror, Dean couldn’t do anything but stand and gawk at him with gut wrenched eyes.

"Cas?" Dean whispered, his voice mangled as Cas clutched his stomach. It hurt worse when Cas continued to look up at him with loving eyes. 

"Don't be surprised Dean," Cas said, surprisingly calm. "You knew this would happen.” 

The next thing he saw was the dusty ceiling fan in his room. He sat up with tears in his eyes and one thought in his head: Castiel was doomed.


	13. Chapter 13

“Cas, you good mate?” Balthazar asked. He glanced over at Cas from the driver's seat, concerned about his melodramatic friend. Castiel was staring out the window at the passing cars and trees like he was in sad MTV music video, not saying a single word. They were on their way to Charlie’s house to help her and Anna get ready for the dance.

“I’m fine,” Cas lied. 

“You've always been the worst liar out of all of us. I know what this is about. Lad, it’s been a week. You have to know he isn’t coming back,” Balthazar said with a sigh. 

“I know he isn’t coming back. What else would be bothering me?” Cas quipped. 

“Come on Cas, don’t pick a fight with me. All I’m saying is that this is not healthy. You can’t let it eat you up anymore, he’s only one guy that you didn’t even know for that long, he’s not worth pining over.” Balthazar said, but that only made it worse. 

“Shut up. You have no right to tell me how I feel, especially not about Dean. You didn’t even know him.” 

“I knew him well enough to know he wasn’t afraid to let you be humiliated to protect his own ego. You have to know he isn’t someone who cares, Cas. Not like...ah forget it,” Balthazar said. 

“What? What were you going to say?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Why don’t I believe you?” 

“Drop it Cas.” 

“Fine, as long as you promise to stop insulting Dean.” 

Balthazar pursed his lips like he wanted to snap back, but he held back and said. “Alright.” 

“Great,” Cas replied. They rode in tense silence the rest of the way to Charlie’s house. When they arrived, Alfie opened the door wearing a dark blue tuxedo and sporting well combed hair. 

"Woh, what's with the frowny faces?" He asked after seeing their grumpy expressions. 

"Cas is still emo about his boy toy," Balthazar said, pushing past Alfie and stepping into the house. 

"Cas, do you want to talk about it?" Alfie asked. 

“Not really, but thank you for being so thoughtful,” Castiel said loud enough for Balthazar to hear. 

“You know what-” Balthazar began, ready to start fighting again, but Charlie came into the room and interrupted. 

“No arguing tonight, do you hear me?” Charlie said with a glare. 

“Yes Charlie,” Cas and Balthazar said in unison. 

“Good. Now tell me, how do I look?” She asked. She spun around in her beautiful, flowing, dark green dress, and showed off her elegant updo. 

“Like a bloody goddess,” Balthazar declared. 

She shot him a wink. “Right answer.” She said. 

“Sorry Charlie, but I’m stealing your thunder.” Anna appeared at the top of the stairs draped in a short, cloud white dress, golden high heels, and hair similar to Charlie’s. 

“Wow,” Alfie said, gawking at her with sparkling eyes, “You look ...amazing.” 

“Thank you,” She said as she carefully descended down, trying not to trip in her painful shoes. “Cas, what do you think?” She asked, brushing a curl behind her ear. 

“What Alfie said.” Cas answered. 

She didn’t seem entirely satisfied with that answer, but if she was disappointed she didn’t say anything. “Come on boys,” She said. “Come help us do our makeup.” 

“I have work in an hour,” Cas said. 

“And because that’s bloody lame, and I’m your ride, I’m making you stay here to help until I say it’s time to leave.” Balthazar said. 

“You don’t want to help do my eyeliner? I thought that was your favorite part,” Charlie said as they went up the stairs. 

“It is, I just don’t want to be late,” Cas said. 

“You won’t be, trust us.” Charlie said. However, he had his doubts. He was always late to work on Homecoming. 

\--------------

As punishment for being thirty minutes late, Cas had to stay behind after his shift and close up the restaurant. He didn’t mind, though. He enjoyed the peace and quiet of the empty diner, and he enjoyed wiping down tables and cleaning the soda machine without the part time manager telling him to unclog a toilet. It was also his time to do whatever he wanted without shame. 

After Michael left for the night, Castiel was finally alone in the diner. At first, it was normal and boring. He sprayed a window where a two year old had sneezed on it earlier that night, and hummed to himself for entertainment. That was until he got out the broom. Sweeping was the most dangerous time of night for him to start dancing and singing to whatever song had been stuck in his head that day. He always had the itch to begin dancing with the broom. That night, he scratched. With the play and everything, songs from Grease were usually his ear worm. It fluctuated depending on the number he was practicing, and at the moment, he was trying to memorize “Grease Lightnin’”  He swept, and the energetic melody took control of his body. It began with the tap of his foot, then he bobbed his head, and then humming transformed into full out singing. He certainly wasn’t shy about it. With no one watching, he could spin the broom and belt the words at the top of his lungs without a care in the world. 

He nailed each and every line without hesitation or backtracking to correct himself. It was flawless, performance ready. As he neared the end of the song, he worked up the courage to do a little twirl with the broom, and by god did he regret it. As he spun, he got a brief glimpse of a human figure peering at him through the glass door.

“Oh shit!” Cas exclaimed. His jam session screeched to a halt, and the broom clattered to the ground as Cas tried to manage the embarrassment of the moment at hand. With burning cheeks and stomach like an anvil, he slowly turned to face whoever was standing at the door. Humiliation switched to confusion and shock when he saw Dean Winchester standing at the door with the goofiest grin ever plastered on his face. Cas had to do a double take to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, but nothing changed. Dean remained outside, dressed in his favorite ratty leather jacket and clutching a lone magenta peony. 

“What the hell?” Cas muttered, rushing over to open the door. He unlocked the door, but he wouldn’t move out of the way for Dean to come in. 

“Hey honey, I’m home.” Was the first thing he said.

“Is that really you Dean?” Cas asked, unsure whether to trust his own eyes. 

“Yeah Cas, it’s me,” Dean said. 

“I thought you weren’t coming back. What are you doing here?” Cas asked, still unable to comprehend what was happening. 

“Well, let’s just say my dad didn’t actually finish the job he was working on. I’m back in Sioux Falls for an indefinite amount of time.” Dean explained, watching happily as a bright smile worked its way onto Cas’s face. 

“You mean you’re staying?!” Cas exclaimed. 

“Looks like it.” 

Cas didn’t hesitate before throwing his arms around Dean with joy. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard in a week!” Cas could’ve stayed in that embrace forever, but eventually, he had to say something. “Dean, how long were you standing out there?” He asked.

“Long enough,” Dean said. “Nice moves by the way.” Cas cringed at himself and pulled away. 

“Could you...hear me?” He asked. 

“Just a little. Don’t worry, you sound good.” Dean said, but it didn’t help. He saw Castiel turn tomato red, and to divert his embarrassment, held out the peony now crushed by the hug. 

“What’s that for?” Cas asked, stepping aside to let him in. 

“Oh, I went to homecoming to see if I could find you there. I found Anna and she said you would be here. I picked it up on the way over.” Dean explained. He handed it to Cas with a shy expression, and Cas couldn’t help but notice traces of dirt on the stem.

“I appreciate the gesture, but did you steal this from someone’s yard?” Cas questioned as he took it.

“What? No, of course not. I bought it like any upstanding citizen.” 

Cas eyed him suspiciously, but decided that ignorance was bliss and didn’t press. 

“Enough about me.” Dean said to change the subject, ‘Why the hell are you here instead of homecoming?” 

Cas rolled his eyes and replied. “I hate school dances. They literally have no point what-so-ever. It’s just an excuse for kids to get drunk, lose their virginity, and make people like me hate themselves.” 

“They aren’t  _ that  _ bad.” 

“Yes, they are. Unlike you and Balthazar, I can’t sit there watching other couples slow dance knowing that I would be suspended if I did that. It infuriates me.” Cas answered. Instead of arguing like Cas expected, he nodded in understanding. 

“So, have you ever been to one of these dances? Like ever?” 

“No. I’m just a party pooper I guess.” Cas said. Dean didn’t say anything. He pulled a couple of quarters out of his pocket, went over to the jukebox, and began to flip through the songs. 

“Dean, what are you doing?” 

“Ooh, Frank Sinatra.” Dean said. He popped the quarters in and the first gentle drum solo of “Fly Me To The Moon” played through the speakers. He went back over to Cas, had him put the peony down, laced their fingers together, and pulled him up against his chest. 

“I’ve never slow danced before,” Cas said as Dean began to sway both of them to the deep, soothing voice of Sinatra. 

“It’s easy. Just stay close and sway with me,” Dean said. Cas, still unsure about it, glanced out the windows to make sure no one could see. With a soft touch to his chin, Dean redirected Castiel’s attention back to him. “And don’t worry about who's watching.” 

Looking up into Dean’s candy apple eyes, Cas forgot about his worries and let himself get lost in the song with him. Their movements weren’t that crazy. All they did was swing to the tempo and rotate in a circle, trying not to step on each other’s feet, but it was perfect. Cas had never felt so cared for. Dean moved his hand down to the small of Cas’s back, and pulled him even closer; so close Cas swore he could feel his heart beat. 

The song sped up a bit, and without warning he put Cas into a spin he was the least bit ready for. Cas accidently let go and bumped into a nearby table. While It didn’t hurt him or deter him, he quickly fell back into Dean’s arms, laughing as he put himself where he belonged. Dean beamed along with him, and in the giddy moment rested his forehead against Castiel’s, allowing their noses to brush together. They stared into each other's eyes; each other's souls, and every single inhibition was gone. Every hint of sadness from the past week banished. Cas was sure he hadn’t smiled so hard in months, and Dean: in years. 

When the song neared its end, an ambitious gleam revealed itself in Dean’s eye. “Cas,” Dean said. “Wrap your arms around my neck. I’m gonna’ try something.” Cas looked at him with uncertainty, but he trusted Dean not to do something too stupid, so he did as he was told. 

Sinatra sang the final line. “Hold on!” Dean warned before dropping Cas into a risky dip. 

“Dean!” Cas exclaimed, terrified he was going to drop him somehow. He clung to Dean's neck tightly as he held him in that position, ignoring the fact the song had ended and only soft static flowed from the jukebox. Cas looked up at Dean with such infatuation and warmth, the Winchester couldn’t stop himself as he leaned down to plant an amorous kiss on his lips. Cas closed his eyes, prepared for sparks and adrenaline to rush through his body, but nothing happened. Dean’s hot, heavy breath was on his face, but that was all.

Cas opened his eyes to see Dean staring down at him with pain riddled across his face. His once adoring gaze was now hollow, horrified. Dean wasn’t there with him anymore.

“What’s the matter Dean?” Cas asked, which seemed to bring Dean out of whatever terrible trance he was in. He met Castiel’s inquisitive look with a heartbroken, guilt-ridden expression. He pulled Cas up to a normal standing position and stepped back, letting him go. 

“I’m sorry Cas, we can’t do this,” He said, refusing to look at him. Cas gawked at him in disbelief, he had to be joking. 

“You can’t be serious! Come on Dean, don’t make this harder than it has to be. You’re back and you’re staying, it’s not that difficult for us to be together now!” 

“It shouldn’t be difficult, but it is. I want you more than anything, but I won’t let you get hurt because I was too selfish to control myself,” Dean said.

“Dean, is there something you need to talk about? You’re struggling, I can tell. If you tell me what you’re going through, if I could understand, maybe-” 

“No, Cas, the last thing I would ever want is for you to understand. I am never going to tell you what I go through, never.” Dean declared firmly. Cas shook his head, once again let down by Dean’s bull like stubbornness. 

“Then I guess you came here for nothing. Leave, I have to clean up.” Cas turned his back. He picked up his broom, and continued to sweep like the last few minutes had never happened. Dean took a few seconds to walk out the door, but eventually, after watching Cas pretend like he wasn’t there, he gave up and left.  Cas glanced back at the door and at the crushed peony Dean had forgotten on one of the tables. He picked up the peony, and considered what to do with it. He thought about throwing it away, but quickly decided that wasn’t an option. So he left it there for the moment, and after closing up for good, brought it home to try and preserve it, even though he knew his efforts were in vain. 


	14. Chapter 14

Dean was sitting at the kitchen table, pouring over some old book for Bobby. Usually, he would detest that kind of work, but his mind needed to be on anything but Cas. He hated himself for unintentionally teasing Cas with that kiss three nights ago. He was going to do it, but when the time came, all he thought about was how much danger Cas would be in when monsters needed leverage over him. All he could think about was the dreams that didn’t end nice, the ones way more likely to be true if he gave in to what his heart wanted. So he had pulled away from the kiss and let Cas down, again. 

That’s why he read, to distract himself from the guilt. Dean was reading about sirens, of all things, when the doorbell rang. He sighed heavily, he and Sam were the only ones home at the moment so he would have to deal with whoever the hell it was. He grabbed his favorite pistol off the table and crept toward the door warily, they weren’t expecting company. 

“Who’s there?” Dean shouted, finger nice and cozy against the trigger. 

“Um, a customer. This is an auto-shop isn’t it?” The girl asked. Dean lowered his gun and opened the door. He immediately recognized her as one of Castiel’s friends from the incident in the parking lot. 

“Dean Winchester? Well shit. Cas isn’t going to be happy about this.” The girl said, crossing her arms and looking him up and down.

“Charlie, is anyone home?” That low, raspy voice was unmistakably Castiel’s. Dean began to panic as he heard his footsteps getting closer and closer. 

“Tell him I’m not here!” Dean whispered to Charlie. 

“Nah, I’m not about lying to my friends.” She said. “Yeah Cas, somebody is home alright!” Cas appeared on the porch dressed in a leather jacket, dark jeans, and slicked back hair. He looked hot as hell; Dean thought, but when Cas saw who was at the front door, he was angry as hell. 

“Come on Charlie, let’s find another auto-shop,” Cas said, glaring daggers at Dean. 

“No, we’ve already paid for one tow truck. So both of you, get over yourselves so I can get home and nap.” Charlie said. 

“Sure thing,” Dean replied, “What’s the issue?” 

“Drama practice ended and his car wouldn’t start. So we called a tow truck and they brought us here. Is the mechanic home?” Charlie explained. 

“No, but I can take a look for you. I know quite a bit about cars.” Dean said. Charlie looked to Cas for approval. He wasn’t happy, but he nodded in agreement. 

“Awesome. I’ll be out in a minute.” Dean went back into the house and called up the stairs. “I’ll be in the junkyard if you need anything!” To Sammy. 

“OK!” Sam shouted back. 

Dean left the house and went over to where Cas’s car was. Charlie and Cas stood close to each other, whispering just loud enough to hear. 

“It’s like everywhere I turn he’s there! Seriously, you don’t think it’s a little weird that this is where he lives? Out of every house in Sioux Falls?” Cas said to Charlie. 

“I think it’s fate.” Charlie teased, but Cas wasn’t amused. 

“What’s fate?” Dean chimed in. 

“Nothing.” Cas said, stepping aside so Dean could access the front hood. Dean got one look at the Lincoln and couldn’t help but smirk. 

“What?” Cas asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Nothing, it’s just this car doesn’t seem like your style,” Dean said. 

“I know right!” Charlie said, “It makes him look like a pimp.” 

“Charlie!” Cas exclaimed, blushing lightly. Dean laughed along with Charlie as he popped open the hood to see what was going on. He poked around places he knew were vulnerable to malfunction, and it wasn’t long before he determined the problem. 

“What is it?” Charlie asked. 

“I think the starter is messed up, you’ll have to replace it,” He said with confidence. 

“How long with that take? How much will it cost?” asked Cas. 

“Not too long, about two to four hours. And don’t worry about payment, I’ll fix it for free.” 

“Four hours? I can’t wait that long, I’m in heels!” Charlie whined. 

“Well it’s not like you have another choice,” Cas said. 

“Actually, if you want, you can use my landline to call a ride.” Dean offered. 

“That would be great, where is it?” 

“There’s one right in the kitchen. Go in through the front door and through the living room, it’ll be right there on the wall.” Dean explained. She winked at them and said, “You boys behave while I’m gone.” Then hurried toward the house. 

“So,” Dean said to relieve the awkward tension, “What’s with the Fonzie gettup?” 

Cas rolled his eyes and replied, “I’m Danny Zuko not Fonzie.” 

“Danny who?” 

“Danny Zuko, the lead in Grease, the character I’m playing.” Cas said, not even attempting to conceal the attitude in his voice. 

“Sorry, never seen it,” Dean said as politely as he could. He knew responding with more venom would not help the state of their relationship. 

“Why am I not surprised?” 

Dean leaned against the car, gripping the edges and trying not to snap back. “Cas…” Castiel looked over at him with raised eyebrows and pursed lips. “You know what, screw this. I’m getting the materials I need.” So he marched off to the garage where Bobby kept all the tools. He gathered what he needed and when he returned five minutes later, Charlie was with Cas again. 

“You have a ride?” He asked, dropping his duffle bag of gadgets to the ground. 

“Yeah. Our friend Balthazar is picking me up.” She said. 

“What about you Cas?” Dean asked. 

“He’s staying. There’s no room in Balthazar’s car right now,” Charlie said. 

“I am?” 

“Yep. So I suggest you find a way to get comfy and pass the time,” Charlie replied. Cas looked at Dean, and Dean looked at Cas, neither of them were thrilled. 

“Well, since you’ll be staying for a bit, the house is open to you. Raid the fridge, drink some beer, take a nap, just don’t go poking around downstairs,” Dean said. Cas gave Charlie one last look of desperation, but she shrugged and said nothing. 

“I guess I’ll go do homework then,” Cas said. He got his backpack from his car and headed to Bobby’s house, shooting both Charlie and Dean disgruntled looks along the way. As he walked off, Dean couldn’t help but let his gaze fall to where his tight jeans hugged him in all the right places. 

“Dean, you know I’m standing right here, don’t you?” Charlie asked, incredibly uncomfortable. 

“I’m only a man Charlie, only a man.” Dean said, biting his lip and tearing his eyes away. 

“You’re gross, that’s what you are,” Charlie snorted. 

"Probably," Dean laughed, pulling out a pair of clippers from his bag. 

"I have a question," Charlie said after a second or two of silence. "Why are you leading him on like this? You know he likes you, and it's easy to tell you like him too, so what exactly is your angle? Tease him and break his heart? Have some kicks and string him along?" 

"It's complicated," Dean said. 

"Then explain it to me, because you seem cool and I really don't want to hate you."

Dean was reluctant, he had never met this chick before and she wanted his life story? Then again, she knew Cas, and if she could find a way to make Cas to not be pissed at him anymore, he would be grateful. 

"I'm going to be honest with you," He said. "I'm not a mechanic. Neither is my dad, and neither is Bobby Singer. I can't tell you what we do, but you have to know that it's dangerous. We risk our lives all the time. I sleep with a gun under my pillow because of the people who might come after me and my family. I can't have friends and I can't date because the people who get close to me, the people I love, they get hurt and they die. I want him, but I refuse to put him in harm's way. So if it seems like I’m leading him on, I’m sorry.” 

After he finished, a new car rolled into Bobby’s front yard. The dude inside rolled down the window. “Oh Charlie!” He called. 

“There’s my ride,” Charlie said. She reached out to shake Dean’s hand, and when he grabbed her she leaned in and said. “Please find a way to make up. As much as I love him, bitchy Cas is no fun to hang out with, and he’s bitchy because of you. I don’t care how you do it, just get him back to normal.”

“If he’ll even talk to me.” 

“Trust me, he will. Nice meeting you for real Dean, see ya later.” With that, she hopped into the car and drove off. Dean leaned against the Lincoln and stared at the house, debating whether or not he should talk to Cas first or deal with the car. He decided that fixing the car would be a good beginning to reconciliation, so he did that first. 

Three and a half hours later, Dean was sweaty, tired, and the sun was sinking from the sky. He wiped his forehead, closed the hood, and trudged back to the house thinking of ice cold water and a good nap. 

“Cas,” He called after closing the front door behind him, but he got no response. He ventured into the living room, wondering if Cas was on the couch, but the room was empty. So he went to the kitchen, and that was where he found him. When Dean saw what was happening, deep affection pooled in his chest. He leaned against the doorframe and couldn’t stop the doting grin that formed as he watched Sam and Cas quietly. Cas had never been so perfect to him. 

“Then all you have to do is divide by two and square it,” Cas explained in a kind, soft voice. 

“That’s it?” Sam asked, scribbling the answer down on his paper. 

“That’s it. Do you think you can try it by yourself now?” Cas asked. 

“Uh huh, it’s really simple.” Sam replied. 

“Told you it was easier than it looked,” Cas said, smiling at Sam as he got to work on his problem. 

“Am I interrupting something?” Dean asked. Cas looked over at him, and his pleasant expression fell. 

“Is the car done?” Cas inquired, not interested in small talk. 

“Yep, it runs nice and smooth,” Dean said. 

“Good, then I can finally go home,” Cas said, getting up and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. 

“You’re leaving?” Sam asked, looking up at him with those sad puppy dog eyes. 

“Unfortunately, yes. I’d love to stay and help you more, but I need to go home,” Cas said apologetically. 

“Bye then. Thanks for the help,” Sam said, waving him goodbye. 

“Here,” Dean said as Cas walked away from the table, “Let me walk you outside.” Cas grimaced, but that didn’t deter Dean in the slightest. He trailed behind Cas, resisting the urge to touch his lower back on the way out. They went all the way out to the car where Sam couldn’t listen in. 

“So you got along with Sammy?” Dean asked. 

“Yes, he’s a very good kid, he’s smart. I see a bright future ahead of him,” Cas said. Dean beamed, he’d never wanted him more then he did at that moment. Cas looked away, refusing to fall for his enchanting gaze again. 

“Spit it out. What do you want?” Cas said coldly. 

“I want to apologize. I know I haven’t been fair to you, Cas. I’ve contradicted myself too many times and you don’t deserve to be in the dark about where this relationship is heading anymore,” Dean said. 

“Where is it heading then?” Cas responded. 

“There’s no denying it Cas,” Dean said, “I need you in my life. You’re the first good thing to happen to me in a long time, and it’s selfish I know, but I can’t let you go.” 

“What’s the but this time?” Cas asked, he knew better than to get his hopes up. 

“But I can’t let you get hurt because I couldn’t keep my feelings in check,” Dean said. 

“How could you possibly get me hurt?” Cas said, shaking his head in confusion. 

“I can’t say.” 

Castiel let out a hefty, frustrated sigh. “Fine, Dean. If you think you’re ‘too dangerous’ to be my boyfriend, then what do you want?” Cas asked, too tired to put up with his melodramatic nonsense. 

“I was thinking that we could just be friends, for real this time. Call it middle ground,” Dean said. 

“Do you seriously think that’s going to work?” 

“No. But I think it’s worth a shot.” Dean said. 

“If you actually want to try to be my friend this time, I’d rather have that than nothing,” Cas said, shrugging shyly. Dean gawked at him, he hadn’t been expecting him to go along with it. 

“Really?!” Dean exclaimed with a childlike grin. 

“I’m probably stupid for agreeing to this again, and I’m still upset at you, but I need you in my life too,” Cas said, kicking the dirt and staring at the ground. 

“I’m glad we could come to an agreement, pal,” Dean said, punching his arm gently. Cas opened the drivers door and with a huff of laughter replied, “You are something else Dean Winchester, do you know that?” 

“I know. I’ve kept you long enough. You should get home,” Dean said. He felt like he should lean over and kiss him on the cheek or something, but he held back and let Cas slide into his car. Friends didn’t kiss each other on the cheek. Cas twisted his key and the car started with a soft pur and rumble. 

“Have a goodnight Dean,” Cas said. 

“You too Cas,” Dean replied. Cas shut the door and rolled out of the front yard, leaving Dean all by his lonesome. He went back inside, didn’t do his homework, and got back to his book about sirens. 


End file.
